The other night I woke up at 2am and had an interesting experience…
I was where most people are when they wake up at 2am – and happened to glance over at the tub, where I saw something on the wall. Since we are vacationing in Florida at a house in the woods, bugs are plentiful. So, the thought ran through my mind, another bug… I didn’t even know what kind it was, so I looked back – and it was gone! Oh no…where did it go…?
Sure enough, it was down on the tiles that surrounded bathtub, and I could plainly see that it was a large ant. It had crawled up the wall as best it could but had fallen down again. Obviously, it was in a place that it shouldn’t have been and couldn’t get out. Not for lack of trying, though…that thing had PERSISTENCE! It would crawl up the wall and fall, crawl up the wall and fall – over and over and over and over again – and would still be crawling, unless it died of exhaustion!
As I watched, however, something strange happened. I actually felt sorry for it – and was compelled to help! So, I got the soap dish, scooped it up, and took it outside. I have no idea where it was trying to go, but its chances of living were better outside.
Funny… my normal practice with bugs is to kill them, not save them. If they are in my house, they are in the wrong place. Period. But somehow, as I watched, I was moved with surprising compassion. I kept watching as it kept trying. No doubt, the falls had to hurt – but up the wall it went again and again. Sometimes, it would get higher than other times, but from my perspective, I could see that there was no way that thing could ever scale the wall. It was just too high! And besides, if it ever got up there (wherever it thought “there” was) – what would it do? There was nothing for it up there!
This was truly this was the case of the fallen thinking that self-effort could save it! That ant tried harder and harder, endured great falls, pain, and (no doubt) disappointment, and yet, the end of all of its efforts would be tragic – either way. It would either die trying to climb the wall or succeed in scaling it – just to realize that there was nothing there!
From my perspective, I could see that the ant’s situation was absolutely hopeless, but it couldn’t see it. I don’t know how it got into that predicament, but it surely needed a savior! Well, that night, its “savior” was me. Moved by compassion, I simply lifted it up and took it where it belonged, to someplace it could LIVE. I didn’t know anything about the ant, and yet – somehow – I felt great compassion, because I could relate to the its plight!
We are not so different, this and I. I once was where it was… Thankfully, the real Savior saw my plight, was filled with compassion, and intervened! After experiencing just a touch of His compassion for this ANT, I can only imagine how He must feel about us… He CREATED US, KNOWS US, LOVES US and CARES about our lives on earth – and beyond!
Oh my, God is soooooooo GOOD – and incredibly MERCIFUL!! I know His heart must ache for us, and His compassion flow mightily when He considers our fallen state. From His perspective, He can see that we are in a no-win situation. We may not see it, but He does…
Perhaps, all of us are more like the ant than we might like to admit… If we knew how desperate our situation really is – and how futile our attempts to right it – we’d know how hopelessly lost we are without Him. If we could see the truth about our predicament, we’d reach out for Him quickly; we’d call on the name of the Lord and be saved!
