Live Under God's Will

I found a scout from our neighborhood cut ant colony in my house the other day. This happens about twice a year or whenever unusual activity is going on. I’ve been having work done around my house and I guess while leveling the house the ground was vibrating from moving big concrete blocks around and the ant’s curiosity brought him around to see what was going on. I’ve observed the colony during one of their food gatherings and it amazes me how many of them there are, how far they are willing to travel for the food they are seeking and how hard they work. I’ve also observed that most of the time the ants work only during the cooler night-time and early morning hours. There are so many ants traveling across the lawn they actually wear a path in the grass. Needless-to-say, in the past, the whole neighborhood has tried everything in the world to eliminate this huge colony, but it seems to just keep growing. Some folks have a hard time keeping them out of their fruit trees and gardens, and it seems any and all deterrents to keep the ants at bay are only temporary at best. It’s hard to win over Mother Nature when nature is determined to reclaim what we’ve upset and modified.

Have you ever noticed how persistent grass and weeds can be? My automotive business has been close now for almost fifteen years and almost all of the asphalt covering the ground around the buildings has been reclaimed by the grasses. This stuff is one to two inches thick and hard as a rock, yet there are small blades of grass pushing the asphalt aside and breaking through the surface all the time. The grass needs to be itself and the only thing holding it back is resistance from outside forces, like being covered over and/or constant traffic wearing it down. Once the resistance is removed the grass begins to grow and live tall, because it never gave up, it never died.

[Matthew 26:39] Who is it that we should live for? Is it to please self, to please others, or to please God? One might say I live for Christ. If that is so, then one must live like Christ. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to God, his Father in heaven, “…Yet not as I will, but as you will.” His impending death was not about others (although it was for others). It was not about himself. It was all about living for God and doing God’s will throughout his life. If Jesus lived life this way, we should also live life in the same way. You say it’s hard to live as Jesus did in today’s world with so much resistance toward the Christian belief and the lifestyle that goes with it. So, we must become like the ant and the grass, persistent and willing to be who we ought to be. * If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. * If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends, and some genuine enemies. Be successful anyway. * If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. * If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. * The good you do today will often be forgotten. Be good anyway. * Give the best you have, and it will probably never be enough. Do your best anyway. * In the final analysis, it’s between you and God – It was never between you and them anyway. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Dare to live. Push resistance aside and reach for the Son.