Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
Coneys are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
Locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
A lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces.
Proverbs 30:24-28
Last Sunday's sermon was from this passage, but since I overslept last Sunday and didn't go to church, I only heard the sharing from Cell group tonight. It's stuck in my mind because here we are, always being told to look up to the great men/women of this earth, be it Gandhi, Einstein, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa etc.. yet this wise man who wrote this points us to 4 creatures.. small ones at that! Mind boggling.
The ants.. small little creatures yet they work hard. You have a picnic, they carry your potato chips away to store. They work hard in the summer so that they have food to eat in the winter. They don't put off to tomorrow what they can do today. They know the timing of things.
For us, the 'preparation for winter' is to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). If we have done that, then we must also work hard to equip ourselves for difficult times by storing God's Word in our hearts.
Coneys.. are like the size of a guinea pig and they are vulnerable to attacks from predators. So they know their own strengths and weaknesses. As long as they hide under the rocks, no eagle can get to them. The eagle would have to rip the whole mountain of rocks to get to them! But if they get out onto the plains, it's dead meat!
Likewise, we are like these coneys, vulnerable to diseases, depression, temptation, name it, we're exposed to it. So where is our strength? In the Lord, of course. Like coneys, they did not make the mountain, but they know how to use it. So we don't have the strength ourselves, but our God have that strength! Be strong in the Lord, the Bible tells us, and in His mighty power (Eph 6:10)
Locusts.. one locust can't do much, but when they get together, they can create havoc and devastation to crops over a vast area. Farmers fear them. They know when they do things collectively, they make an impact.
Christians can make an impact like these locusts when we come and work together, and pray together. Let us come together and contribute to the unity of the church.
Lizards.. they're creepy, slimy, cold blooded and you will forever remember the occasion should one fall on you.. urgh! They're everywhere! You can't get rid of them (sorry Van!) and they can be found in kings' palaces.
Think of the people who are not lovable, and you might one day see them sitting next to you in our King's palace! And we might be like that lizard ourselves, not lovable nor desirable, but by God's grace we can live in heaven as sons and daughters of God.
