Spring has definitely sprung! The birds are out and about, gaining nourishment from the seeds we leave in the bird feeder. Flying insects are rampant. Though we are not particularly fond of the stinging variety, such as bees and wasps, we know that they are a crucial part of the pollination process.
Today the focus is on honey bees. Young honey bees stay in the hive while older bees bring back the nectar. As the bee matures, it starts going out to find the nectar for itself, from the source. The young bee relies on the older bee to help sustain it. After a time, the bee grows and no longer needs the older bees to survive.
In this is a lesson about spiritual growth. When we are young in the Lord, we receive a lot of our spiritual food from others; teachers, writers, friends, and older more mature believers. But growing spiritually means that like the bee, we have to start getting the nectar for ourselves.
Instead of just relying on the wisdom and maturity of others, go directly to the Word to get to know God more deeply. Learn from the bee by studying and applying the Word to receive the God’s rich nectar - His love, His grace, and His presence for yourself.
It is, in fact, a law of the spiritual life that the further you go, the more you are aware of the distance still to be covered. Your growing desire for God makes you increasingly conscious, not so much of where you are in your relationship with Him as of where as yet you are not.
- J.I. Packer
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