God's Garden - Pt. 9

 

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:7-8 ESV).

 

When I was a child there were lots of honey bees that lived around our home. The fruit trees and flowers attracted them in great numbers. For me, they were only a nuisance, keeping me from the ultimate goal of picking fresh figs, peaches and plums. As I have grown older I have learned a great deal about these fascinating creatures in the plan and purpose of God’s creation. Bees are an intricate part of the ecosystem, especially for the pollination of fruit trees and vegetables. I have developed a deep respect and love for bees.

 

Our reading today mentions “milk and honey” to describe the bountiful promised land to which God would bring his people. That phrase appears numerous times in the history of God’s people. A land flowing with honey signals a great harvest of fruit and vegetables made possible by bees pollinating plants and trees. And the honey they produce is really their food, but they “share” it with us and other creatures. I don’t think it bothers bees that they don’t get more credit for how they benefit the ecology of God’s garden as they produce their sweet honey. They are “fearfully and wonderfully made” creatures that simply go about the work God has given them in his world.

 

However, there is a lesson we should learn here. We must come to understand that our calling is to simply go about our work and “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). In our modern culture we have repeated the same error in the church as those who have gone before us in the division between “clergy” and “laity”. While it is both necessary and valid for some to be compensated for their work in the church, it is essential to recognize that it takes all of us, paid or not, to do the work of the church. Of course, this is the reason why God has gifted all of us with different gifts and talents. My encouragement to each of you is to renew your efforts to help develop this present land “flowing with milk and honey”!