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Bee Thankful The queen bee lays each of her eggs in a six-sided cell that is filled with pollen and honey for nourishment? Twenty one days later, the food supply exhausted, the "newborn" wrestles, squirms, and strains to break the wax seal and emerge alive. The opening it makes is so small, the membrane that covers the wings is scraped off, enabling it to fly. If the bee had a bigger opening to make it easier, it would emerge without a struggle and would be unable to fly. The other bees would soon sting it to death. "In every thing give thanks," Paul wrote. I suppose it's true for the bee, too—"bee thankful." Yes, "bee" thankful in everything—even the narrow places that we so often see as obstacles. If we will let the Lord use them in our lives, they can bring us a joy far greater than the distress that abounds. John Bunyan, the puritan author of "Pilgrim's Progress," once wrote concerning them, "They can appear as the lion to Samson—roaring and gnashing, but, when subdued, full of honey." If God can design a specific struggle to give the common honey bee life itself, why can He not use the things of this life to show us our need for an ever-deepening life with the Lord? Paul knew what he was talking about. Just read through the book of Acts to see all that this man went through for the Lord. To narrow our focus, look at 2 Corinthians 11 to see his summary of it: "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep…in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen…in perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." Wow! He had really been "through the mill," as we say, but he isn't complaining about it; he only describes it to give the glory to God as the one who kept him through it all. He told the church in Corinth, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." (4:8-10) Here, and elsewhere in the Scriptures, we find that the only thing that was important to Paul was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection life for today. He told Timothy that he had fought the good fight; having kept the faith, he kept on course. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was able to not focus on what could be seen, namely suffering and heartache, but rather, on the things unseen—the eternal weight of glory. He even called his afflictions, light—if you can imagine that! You see, he knew that they were only for the moment; he was focused on the bigger picture. Ironic, isn't it, that it is the "bigger picture" that can only be seen through the narrower opening. Jesus even said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Mt. 7:13-14) It is also interesting to note that immediately after Jesus makes this statement, he warns his followers against the false teachers that are like ravening wolves in sheep's clothing. Through the years, it would become very well known that to take Jesus' "narrow way" would indeed bring hardship, especially at the hands of the wolves in sheep's clothing—the so-called "Church!" John Wesley, the founder of "Methodism," which helped to bring Christianity out of the category of "religion" and into the realm of "relationship," once said, "Persecution never did and never could give any lasting wound to genuine Christianity. The best 'helps' to growth in grace are the ill usage, the affronts, and the losses which befall us." And, he too, knew what he was talking about. One day, he was dragged by a mob throughout the streets of Staffordshire, England, for his Biblical beliefs. When he asked if they would be willing to hear him out, some yelled back, "No, no! Knock his brains out; down with him, kill him at once." To make a long story short, the Lord miraculously put a couple of people in the mob, to stand for the truth—including a butcher with a meat cleaver in hand—and John Wesley lived to see another day. Howbeit, many of his days saw much of the same kind of thing—affliction and hardship, but all for the sake of Christ! And Wesley wasn't the only one—many, if not all of his traveling preachers, fared in the same way. It was not an unusual sight to see these itinerants preaching with blood running down their faces as all kinds of objects were being thrown at them. Thomas Mitchell, after hearing John's brother Charles preach, joined this new sect and said, "The love of Christ broke into my soul and drove away the guilt and fear. God gave me invincible courage." And he would need it—he was mobbed, stripped of all his clothing, and dragged over the gravel. On another occasion, after leaving him for dead, the mob declared, "God save the King, and the devil take the preacher." John Nelson, another preacher of the truth of this "heart-religion," was beaten by church-attenders, and then trampled—trying to "tread the Holy Ghost out of him." His wife was also mistreated—so much so that she lost the baby she was expecting, and never regained her normal vigor. Thomas Lee was stoned, dragged down some steps, rolled into the sewer, and thrown into the river. When his wife Mary came to his aid, she was beaten, as well. Years later, after many such episodes, he was asked, while on his deathbed, if he had any regrets. His answer? "If at this moment I saw all of the sufferings I have had for His name's sake, I would say, 'Lord, if Thou wilt give me strength I will begin again, and Thou shall add to them lion's dens, and fiery furnaces, and by Thy grace I will go through them.'" And his wife agreed! Time after time after time—so many refused to go the broad way of the worldly church. They knew that the narrow way was Jesus—"the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) And it wasn't just persecution against the truth; consider their conditions: Many went for hundreds of miles on horseback, crossing half-frozen rivers—with the horse swimming! When one preacher was drowned, the call went forth to send another who was a good swimmer—not a joke, but the God-honest truth. Nights were often spent on the hard cold floor of a cabin, only awakening to find snow on the blanket. One was in such physical pain, that when he fell off his horse due to paralysis, he didn't get back on until help passed by. Francis Asbury once wrote, "I have pains in my body, particularly my hip, which are very afflictive when I ride; but I cheer myself as well as I may with songs in the night." There doesn't even seem to be any resemblance to what we see in so much of the church today—many only praising God when things go their way. Looking for a life of ease, they wouldn't even think of being poured out for another. If they don't feel quite up to par, they skip the things of God and pamper themselves. Imagine if the people I have mentioned had had that selfish and unthankful spirit! And watch out for the wolves in sheep's clothing—not only those in the prosperity movement, but all through the churches. They claim that the Christian goal is to be happy and successful, and that any difficulty is due to you letting Satan have his way. Blasphemy! If that were true, then the one million martyrs who died for the Word of God during the Reformation, died in vain. And if they did, then all of the people I have mentioned above were wrong, too. And if that is so, then the thousands around the world who sit in prisons today for their faith, have been tragically fooled. Oh, don't you be fooled—these false teachers use many Scriptures, but they twist them and give them their own meaning. Paul said his greatest burden was for the care of the churches, and if I didn't care for the churches, I wouldn't risk my "popularity" to warn you—the goal of Christianity is not to have an easy life. Believe what God says—"all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (2 Tim. 3:12) And not only persecution, but difficulties will be a part of every life—God wants to use them to scrape off your wings and let you fly, spiritually. Without struggle, we die! In the midst of Paul's struggles, Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) We need to quit trying to get out of our circumstances—our joy will be in surrendering our lives to His control—knowing that He alone can give us the grace to "bee" thankful—even in the narrow places—even with a song in the night! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
