[202 words]
Beekeepers know that a 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.
The bee does not 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!
There is a spiritual lesson here for us. As Christians, we must be diligent servants, doing the work of the Lord. When Jesus evaluated the spiritual condition of the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 2-3), their degree of acceptance was directly proportional to the kind and amount of work they were doing.
The inspired writer James, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25).
Let us be people who are willing to “work our wings off” in the Lord’s service.