Me? No Way!!!

While out walking one day I almost stepped on an anthill.  Not particularly unusual, I suppose.  But, as I looked down on those tiny creatures, I began to wonder about something.  I decided to do some research and in order to keep it simple, I found a site which is for kids (if it’s scientific, I need it to be plain).  Did you know there are 12,000 species of ants?  These small creatures have no lungs – they breathe in and out through small holes all over their bodies.  They have no ears so their “hearing” is actually through vibrations in the ground that travel into their feet.  There are three types in a colony:  the queen whose job it is to lay eggs – lots of them to keep the colony going, the female workers and the males who work and also make sure the queen lays lots of eggs!  If they fight to protect, they do so to the death, and they can lift 1000 Xs their weight which translates to a small child easily lifting a car.  Pretty impressive.

Obviously, when you stand way above these creatures, they are pretty tiny and insignificant.  Who would care about an ant?  So, what if God said He cared and they needed help so He wanted to send you or me down to teach, heal and save them?  Would you say “Sure thing” and trade your existing body and situation for a body like theirs and go to “dwell among them”?  What if they really didn’t like you and decided they really wanted to get rid of you and, by the way,  they had a nice, painful way in mind?  Are you still willing?  I’ve thought about it.  It didn’t take me long to come up with my answer.  Leave the comforts of home to put on some hard shell and have to run around some ant colony and try to help them when they didn’t want help or even know they needed it?  Me?  No way!

I’m certainly glad Jesus didn’t look at it like me.  I’m so grateful that He was willing to condescend, leave heaven, put on flesh, walk among us and provide what I needed, no matter the cost.   That’s LOVE.

May we remember this and be grateful as we commemorate  Easter!

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men.  And, being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”                          (Philippians 2:5-8)