2006-11-04 - Illustrations From Nature: 3

Psalm 19:1, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands."

This is the last of three installments of some illustrations from nature. These have been rather random and intended to be that way, but we can learn from looking around us. Nature is part of God's revelation to us. His creation, like Scripture, communicates something about Himself. As the designer of creation, part of His revelation to us of Himself is His very creation. I hope that these have been helpful in some way to you.

Greed and the Ant: Consider the ant, who works for the colony and the commonwealth of all the other ants. Is not the ant like an angel in comparison to what we often do? "Go to the ant...consider her ways and be wise," Proverbs 6:6. We are so prone to think only of ourselves, and yet the lowly ant puts us to shame by working diligently - not primarily for its own good, but for the good of the whole, knowing full well that what is good for the group is also what is good for it. May we seek to labor such that our gifts, talents, and abilities are used for the good of the whole and not just ourselves.

Warming the Viper: All too often, we are like the man who warmed up a cold viper by placing it close to his chest. Snakes are generally docile when they are cold. They may even appear harmless, but warm them up and you will know the sting of the viper. We are too prone to nurse the viper of sin in our heart, keeping it warm. However, keeping sin warm in our heart, we will soon know the sting of the venom of sin in our veins.

Praise: We never take any thought about breathing. We never ponder long to get our blood circulating. We never law down an operation plan to help out our nervous system. Should it not be the same with praise? Should not praise naturally flow from us toward the Lord? It will be our nature in Heaven to praise God. Like the angels, we will praise the Lord - not even having to think about it. Shouldn't we strive to make praise as natural as possible, even now?

The Ostrich: We are all to often like the ostrich who, when being pursued, sticks its head in the sand, thinking if it buries its head it can't be seen and thus is safe. We are prone to seek safety and consider ourselves safe when we are not. The Lord has laid down certain precepts and standards for our conduct. When we transgress His planned path, it is like we have stuck our heads in the sand thinking we are safe, when in reality we are in more danger with every passing moment.

Real Power: The Emperor Canute commanded that his throne be placed at the edge of where the tide comes up. He sat down and commanded the tide not to wet his feet. It came up and wet his feet, hence proving he did not have all power as he had asserted. Remember that Pharaoh was no match for frogs, gnats and grasshoppers (Genesis 8 &10). When we wish to think about real power, and who has it, we find how small and limited we really are. A single fly can disturb our sleep, as can the morning bird who joyfully sings at the dawn at our window. To really reflect on God's creation helps us gain a fuller perspective upon our true dependence upon God.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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