COMMUNION: MELVIN AND THE ANTS
COMMUNION: MELVIN AND THE ANTS
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
As you know, my wife is pregnant with child, and I will therefore sometime next year become a father. Whether the baby is a child or a daughter, I look forward to one day being able to say, "This is my Son or Daughter, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Along our journeys together, I expect to act as an example and guide to my children and my household. I plan to share one of my favorite stories with my children until the concept is internalized.
We will call the story “Melvin and the Ants”.
I was told this story while at a Christian camp over 3 decades ago, when I was still in high school. The story goes like this:
MELVIN AND THE ANTS
The boy Melvin was looking at the railroad tracks intently. There was a pile of sand rising up above the rails of one portion of the rails. On top of the ever-growing pile of sand were thousands of ants. The tiny black creatures were all busy running here and there gathering food from the countryside near the railroad line.
Suddenly, the train signal near the railroad tracks came on and signaled with bells and red lights that a train was approaching.
Melvin moved away from the tracks as he knew it was much safer to do so. However, the thousands of small black ants paid no attention and continued scurrying about gathering food and doing their other labors on the huge anthill rising up out of the tracks.
Soon, the train came through and smashed the ants´ home into a million tiny pieces of sand. Hundreds—or even thousands--of aunts on the tracks were squashed to death.
Melvin returned later that afternoon to the same railroad track at the edge of the woods. To his amazement most all of the ants were back hard at work. They were digging out their anthill again. They were bringing in more food and supplies for winter.
Suddenly, once again, the red lights of warning began to go off. A clanging sound was heard in warning of the locomotive which was soon coming.
Again a train was approaching. Again Melvin scurried off to be safely far from the fast-moving train as it passed by.
Again, the train came through and smashed the ants´ home into a million tiny pieces of sanding. Hundreds of aunts on the tracks were squashed to death once again.
Melvin went home with a sense of sadness.
The next day, however, Melvin once again returned to where he had seen the ants twice the day before.
Too Melvin’s amazement--those ants were once again building their humongous anthill in the exact same location as thy had built it the day before. Thousands of ants were once again bringing in ever-more food and supplies from the forest and grasslands nearby.
Melvin was happy to see that these particular ants did not give up easily, but he was quite concerned at the approaching carnage, i.e. when hundreds of ants would again be squashed by a train later that very morning.
Young Melvin went to tell his father.
His father just shook his head at the boys concern.
Then the father patted Melvin on the head and said, “The only way you are ever going to be able to communicate with those ants and tell them to get out of eminent danger is if you become an ant yourself. As well, you will also need to put up a sort of stop sign for the whole community of ants to permanently pay attention to, so they will not build their ant hill on that railroad track again.”
This is what Jesus Christ our Lord did for us, isn’t it?
He became man to come and communicate with us. He took on our struggles and then died for our very own sins, hard-headedness, stupidity and recklessness.
For Christians, the cross is our stop sign. We need to pay attention and listen to his word.
Jesus told us to eat and drink the semblance of wine and bread in remembrance of his coming for us, dying for our sins, his being resurrected, and his making a new Way for us to follow and live out our lives.
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Ephesians 5:1-2 1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
God, the Father says, “Listen to Him.”
Show and state your love and gratitude as you eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine just as Christ called us to do. Listen to Jesus and follow his will—just as the father recommended.
5 [a]Noch während er so redete, hüllte sie eine leuchtende Wolke ein, und aus der Wolke hörten sie eine Stimme: »Das ist mein geliebter Sohn, an dem ich meine Freude habe. Auf ihn sollt ihr hören.« Matt. 17:5
Epheser 5Leben im Licht1 [a]Ihr seid Gottes geliebte Kinder, daher sollt ihr in allem seinem Vorbild folgen. 2 Geht liebevoll miteinander um, so wie auch Christus euch seine Liebe erwiesen hat. Aus Liebe hat er sein Leben für uns gegeben. Und Gott hat dieses Opfer angenommen.
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
As you know, my wife is pregnant with child, and I will therefore sometime next year become a father. Whether the baby is a child or a daughter, I look forward to one day being able to say, "This is my Son or Daughter, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Along our journeys together, I expect to act as an example and guide to my children and my household. I plan to share one of my favorite stories with my children until the concept is internalized.
We will call the story “Melvin and the Ants”.
I was told this story while at a Christian camp over 3 decades ago, when I was still in high school. The story goes like this:
MELVIN AND THE ANTS
The boy Melvin was looking at the railroad tracks intently. There was a pile of sand rising up above the rails of one portion of the rails. On top of the ever-growing pile of sand were thousands of ants. The tiny black creatures were all busy running here and there gathering food from the countryside near the railroad line.
Suddenly, the train signal near the railroad tracks came on and signaled with bells and red lights that a train was approaching.
Melvin moved away from the tracks as he knew it was much safer to do so. However, the thousands of small black ants paid no attention and continued scurrying about gathering food and doing their other labors on the huge anthill rising up out of the tracks.
Soon, the train came through and smashed the ants´ home into a million tiny pieces of sand. Hundreds—or even thousands--of aunts on the tracks were squashed to death.
Melvin returned later that afternoon to the same railroad track at the edge of the woods. To his amazement most all of the ants were back hard at work. They were digging out their anthill again. They were bringing in more food and supplies for winter.
Suddenly, once again, the red lights of warning began to go off. A clanging sound was heard in warning of the locomotive which was soon coming.
Again a train was approaching. Again Melvin scurried off to be safely far from the fast-moving train as it passed by.
Again, the train came through and smashed the ants´ home into a million tiny pieces of sanding. Hundreds of aunts on the tracks were squashed to death once again.
Melvin went home with a sense of sadness.
The next day, however, Melvin once again returned to where he had seen the ants twice the day before.
Too Melvin’s amazement--those ants were once again building their humongous anthill in the exact same location as thy had built it the day before. Thousands of ants were once again bringing in ever-more food and supplies from the forest and grasslands nearby.
Melvin was happy to see that these particular ants did not give up easily, but he was quite concerned at the approaching carnage, i.e. when hundreds of ants would again be squashed by a train later that very morning.
Young Melvin went to tell his father.
His father just shook his head at the boys concern.
Then the father patted Melvin on the head and said, “The only way you are ever going to be able to communicate with those ants and tell them to get out of eminent danger is if you become an ant yourself. As well, you will also need to put up a sort of stop sign for the whole community of ants to permanently pay attention to, so they will not build their ant hill on that railroad track again.”
This is what Jesus Christ our Lord did for us, isn’t it?
He became man to come and communicate with us. He took on our struggles and then died for our very own sins, hard-headedness, stupidity and recklessness.
For Christians, the cross is our stop sign. We need to pay attention and listen to his word.
Jesus told us to eat and drink the semblance of wine and bread in remembrance of his coming for us, dying for our sins, his being resurrected, and his making a new Way for us to follow and live out our lives.
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Ephesians 5:1-2 1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
God, the Father says, “Listen to Him.”
Show and state your love and gratitude as you eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine just as Christ called us to do. Listen to Jesus and follow his will—just as the father recommended.
5 [a]Noch während er so redete, hüllte sie eine leuchtende Wolke ein, und aus der Wolke hörten sie eine Stimme: »Das ist mein geliebter Sohn, an dem ich meine Freude habe. Auf ihn sollt ihr hören.« Matt. 17:5
Epheser 5Leben im Licht1 [a]Ihr seid Gottes geliebte Kinder, daher sollt ihr in allem seinem Vorbild folgen. 2 Geht liebevoll miteinander um, so wie auch Christus euch seine Liebe erwiesen hat. Aus Liebe hat er sein Leben für uns gegeben. Und Gott hat dieses Opfer angenommen.
Labels: communion melvin ants anthills ephesians message matthew children prayers parenting stopsign parents
posted by Kevin Anthony Stoda at 2:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home