Ant Is As Ant Does

A highway in the sky. The ants were marching in a line as far as I could see. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. One line came up the wire, and another line went down the wire. Their highway was a power line that dropped in from a power pole to a masthead on the back of the roof. I was working on the roof that summer, as a contractor, replacing the shingles. Part of the job was to cut a hole in the roof to replace a furnace in the attic, while we had the roof torn off. And while the roof was opened up I went into the attic to find the nest where the carpenter ants were dwelling and spray it, destroying their home. But in the process, I was saving the home of my customer.

Before destroying them and their home I decided to sit on the roof, by the masthead, and observe. They were incredible. I marveled at their determination, their orderliness, their persistence. After all, it was a march of 80 feet on the wire to get to the power pole, then a climb down the pole of another 30 feet, and then out and about to forage for the queen and her workers back in the nest. And how many times a day did they make that trek? Rain or shine! From the moment the sun came up until the lasts rays of sunset. They never stopped, never rested. They didn’t even slow down, not even to pass one another on the wire. Busy, busy, busy. So diligent, so reliable, so punctual. So much so that Solomon praised their work ethic in one of his proverbs.

I decided to talk to the little critters that so captured my amazement. (Okay, perhaps I was just daydreaming.) I asked one of the ants if he ever took a break. He said, “Nope. I got six legs. Work, work, work. All day long.” I asked another if he ever talked to any of his buddies, or the Queen, or the worker guys in the nest. He said, “What? Stop and talk? Are you kidding? Just work. Anyone get out of line they get their head bit off.” So I asked one other if he was a happy little critter. He snapped back at me, “Happy? What’s that? Ant is as ant does!”

A little later in the day I sat in the shade of a tree to eat my lunch. I noticed a butterfly floating by, carefree, and so very, very beautiful. I couldn’t help but think of the ants and the butterfly, in comparison. That butterfly had once been a caterpillar, with many, many legs. But it didn’t work, work, work like the ant. It did do enough work, albeit, to fill its belly with food, build a cocoon, and wait for a change to happen that would be incredible beyond imagination. I think that butterfly was happy. I didn’t ask it, but I think it was. It enjoyed a relationship with its creator that was so unique, so full of grace.

The butterfly’s metamorphosis is like repentance, God changing our heart and making us a new creation. The ant is like the Pharisees and legalists that work so hard to please God, to present themselves righteous and acceptable, all the while traveling the broad road to destruction. Self righteous. Unhappy. Keeping the rules. And the traditions. The butterfly, on the other hand, it found the narrow gate, and the narrow path. The Way. It lived in love. And freedom. It trusted someone bigger than itself to bring it into its destiny. Grace is so very, very beautiful.

“We know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus… I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing…. Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing?.... After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?... The righteous live by faith.” (Galatians 2, 3)