Are You A Butterfly or A Bee?
by Philip Asselin
Both butterflies and bees are incredibly beautiful creatures. My wife is a beekeeper, and I’ve learnt a lot about them from her. Both are attracted to, and enjoy, flowers. But why do I ask whether you are a butterfly or a bee? What is the difference between them?
The answer is that butterflies fly over more flowers, but bees spend more time with each flower, because they have a purpose. They gather honey. Butterflies just fly over the flowers; whereas bees spend much more time with each one, with the intention of gathering as much nectar as possible.
So, what is the application here, and why do I ask which one are you? Consider for a moment how much time you spend reading your Bible. Is it a few hurried minutes, so that you can tick the box of ‘reading the Word’? Or do you take time to meditate on what you are reading? Meditating takes time and effort, just like a bee with a flower. It involves thinking deeply and deliberately about a passage of Scripture; letting it sink into your mind, chewing it over, and letting it take root. A bee carries with it the fruit (pollen) from each flower. Meditating on God’s Word should result in us taking with us the fruit of it. The aim isn’t to memorise as much of the Bible as possible, good though that is. The purpose should be about what happens to us in the process.
Meditating on God’s Word makes a difference to us by clarifying our understanding, altering our thinking, correcting our behaviour and enriching our lives in the process. Not only that, it also affects everyone we come into contact with, as we carry that with us. Watching TV, spending hours on our mobile phone, interacting with our many ‘friends’ on social media, texting or shopping online won’t have anything like the same positive effect, yet we have no problem in doing those things (myself included).
We need to invest, not money, but something far more valuable – time. Each of us has the same 1,440 minutes in each day to invest. From my background in banking, I can encourage you to invest wisely. The best investment any person can make is to spend time with God’s Word. So, open up your Bible today and start investing, and pray “Lord, what are You saying to me?” Then meditate on His answer. What are you going to be, a butterfly or a bee? The choice is yours (and mine).
Prayer: Thank You, Father, that all of us have time available to invest in meditating on Your Word. Please forgive me for the times I’ve acted more like a butterfly than a bee with Your Word. Help to realise the incredible value there is in it, and that You long to speak to me through it. Help me today to resolve to behave more like a bee with it, to draw from it as much as I can, and to allow it to change me for the better from within. Amen.
Philip Asselin Philip is on the associate ministry and teaching teams with Glyndley Manor. He and his wife Gillian attended the second Healing Retreat at Glyndley Manor in 1992, and were greatly helped. They have two grown up children, one grandson, and a step-granddaughter in California, and a daughter and granddaughter in Eastbourne. His desire is to see people healed and set free to serve God.
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