When I was a young man I kept bee hives. At one time I had seven productive hives. Each day I checked on them. There was one hive which was my favorite, for the bees in that hive produced the most honey. They also stung me the most, for these bees were unusually aggressive. Bee guards were on duty always, carefully inspecting anything that wished to enter their hive. If a bee was not part of that particular hive, he could just hang it up. He was not going to be tolerated inside.
One day while observing this hive, I noticed a bumble bee enter, in spite of the warnings from the guard. I immediately hunkered down in front of the hive to watch the show, for I knew what would happen. In a couple of minutes some of the guard brought the bumble bee’s severed head out and dropped it onto the ground. Not long after some more bees brought the rest of the body and unceremoniously dumped it onto the ground. The bumble bee had no business in that hive, for his sole purpose was to rob and destroy. The alert honey bees were on guard and would not allow their enemy to come in and cause havoc.
In Ephesians 4:27 we are told, “Neither give place to the devil.” To prevent Satan from entering our homes, our churches, our government, our schools, our public institutions, etc. we must be on guard. Just as those bees were on guard that day, on the lookout for the enemy, we must also stand spiritual guard, lest the enemy creep in unawares. Once inside he can do much harm. If the enemy, Satan, does make it in, we must remove him. We must resist him, rebuke him, and cast him out. James 4:7 tells us the way to do this effectively is, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Oh, that word 'submission'--how we struggle with it at times. But it's simply the only way forward. I like the way, you stated the scenario and them tell us what we need to do on both accounts. Keep out the enemy by being submissive to God. The last paragraph sums it all up. As I read your story, I remembered the day I got stung by a bee. I walked home (approx a mile from where the bee stung me) with the sting in my hand. I believe grandma got it out when I got home. I still have the scar in my right palm...this may be another article coming on. Love you! And thanks for posting...Oh the beauty of this little community here at FW--It motivates me to go on...
I like this article.I know that we let our guard down sometimes and then have to deal with the intruder.Putting on the whole armor of God and keeping it on is something we all should do.
I always enjoy reading your articles. Thank you. Thank you also for your comments on my articles. Please suggest me ideas to work better for the Glory of Our Lord. Thank you
