Willing To Work Our Wings Off

Beekeepers know that bee's age is determined by the condition of its wings. Because bees constantly work, their wings get a lot of wear and tear. Young bees have wide well-formed wings, whereas older bees have narrow, torn, and tattered wings (see figure 4).

The bee doesn't die of old age. It dies when its wings are completely worn out and it can no longer work or fly. Near the point of death, the bee points itself away from the beehive and begins to fly, never to return again.

The bee literally wears itself out working!

As we look at the worn out bee, there's spiritual lesson for us as Christians. We must be diligent servants, doing the work of the Lord!

In Revelation 2-3, when Jesus evaluated the spiritual condition of the seven churches of Asia, He refers to their labor in the Lord's kingdom (Revelation 2:2,9,13,19; 3:1,8,15). Their degree of acceptance was directly proportional to the kind and amount of work they were doing.

The inspired writer James records these words in this regard:

"But he who look into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25).

If we desire to be recipients of the spiritual blessings of this life and the life to come, we must be "a doer of the work."

We must be people who are willing to "work our wings off" in the Lord's service (1 Corinthians 15:58; cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9; Jeremiah 48:10).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets