How's Your Hive

As seen in the Village Voice and HEARTbeat

How’s Your Hive?

            Years ago I had a friend who started collecting bees.  He set up his modest size hive colony in the middle of his fruit tree orchard because he wanted to ensure good pollination for his trees and have a little honey for eating and the wax for other uses.  He set out with great intensions and lofty goals, but after the first year he almost threw in the towel.

            One would not think, but in rural Western Arkansas there are still black bears in the mountains.  After surviving a bear picnic, some of his bees caught a disease and he lost half of the hives.  Then he was called away for military duty and there was no one to harvest the honey and the wax, and the remaining hives were overfilled and most of the bees sought other residences where it was less clogged!

            After a few years, he learned through agricultural outreach sources, by doing a lot of reading, and by checking on the colonies regularly to make sure things were going well.  He also had to guard the colony with a little bit of electrified fencing to keep the hungry “critters” out of the hives.  Today his colonies are thriving, which in turn helps him have a bumper crop of home-grown fruit every year.  He said learning, protection, and attention were the keys to the survival of the colony.

            During His ministry, Jesus knew the apostles would have problems on their own.  It is for that reason he sent them out into the surrounding villages in pairs.  Together they could support, encourage, and be a reasoning source to each other.  They were young in spreading the Good News and Jesus knew they would need help.

            As Jesus knew His ministry was coming to a close, His concerns about the apostles did not change.  He knew alone they would have a hard time individually.  He told them He had to leave so the “Advocate” would come.  He even told them He would send the Advocate to them.  It was through the Advocate that Jesus would always be with them.  Even though they would be going into all of Judea, Samaria, and to the outermost regions of the world, He would never leave them alone.

            Let’s liken our faith to the honeybee hives mentioned above.  How is your hive?  Is it under attack from outside forces?  Do you have the luxury of having other hives around you?  What is the “output” from your hive?  All valid questions which can be answered in a positive manner by plugging into Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

            We need to surround ourselves with believers, a body of Christ to help fend off attacks.  We need to expand our knowledge of our mission by devouring the Word every chance we get.  And we need to bear fruit that can only come from a strong, well established faith.

            Don’t be a single bee on the outside, subject to the diseases of a corrupt world.  Get back into the habit of being with others who, like all of us, need our faith strengthened daily!