When I was a child, I was deeply petrified of bees. To be honest, I still get a little uneasy whenever those flying monsters buzz around my head. In the last couple of years, however, I have come to appreciate bees more than ever before. As a matter of fact, I am convinced that many of the problems that occur among evangelical Christians today could be solved by bees. Let me explain…
Did you know that one-third of the human diet comes from insect pollinated plants? Astoundingly, the honey bee is responsible for eighty percent of those plants. Scientists have estimated that the human food supply would collapse without the aid of bees as they add about $15 billion a year to our food supply. They are a ‘flying’ example of productivity:)
It seems that everywhere honey bees go, they bring life. They are master pollinators. There is a secret to the honey bees’ productivity, however. There is a very specific reason that they are such good pollinators. I am convinced that if the church could learn the ‘secret’ of the honey bee, all of our real problems would be solved. Like the honey bee, we may even become more ‘productive’. Well, I have good news! In today’s blog post, I’d like to share the $15 billion ‘secret’ of the honey bee.
The $15 billion secret
Bees don’t care about pollination, rather, they are simply after nectar!
There you have it. That is the $15 billion secret. Bees have a ‘one track’ mind. They have a love affair with nectar. It tastes really good to them. They are addicts. They will stop at nothing to get this nectar. Nectar is their food. This ‘nectar’ food is also used by the honey bee to produce more food (honey). The process by which the bees use nectar to produce honey is also fascinating, but that is another article for another day. Simply put, the bees just want nectar.
The bees have been designed to instinctively know where to find the nectar. Although nectar is not visible externally, the honey bee knows the plants and flowers that internally contain the nectar they need to feast upon. Therein lies their mission. They are sent out to find and extract their ‘nectar’ food from the various plants and flowers that are rich with this internal food. As they go about their mission of discovery and eating, $15 billion worth of pollination happens as a by-product!
The distraction of seeking to ‘pollinate’
Can you imagine what would happen if the bees stopped seeking ‘nectar’ and instead held conferences and wrote books about “How To Start Mass Pollination Movements” or “Why We Need To Be Obedient To The Great Pollination Commission”? It would be a disaster. Bees would begin to disappear because their ultimate mission of living by nectar and producing greater food with that nectar would be replaced with the byproduct of pollination. As great as pollination is, it is not the goal of the honey bee. The goal of the honey bee is nectar which leads to honey.
In the same way as the honey bee seeks to live by nectar, we have been designed to live by ‘nectar’ as well. Our nectar is the life of the person of Jesus Christ. In the same way that nectar is found inside plants and flowers, our living ‘nectar’ is found in ourselves and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ (Col. 1:27). We can also behold portraits (pictures) of this nectar (Christ) in nature, art, music, etc… It is our ‘mission’ to find this nectar, extract this nectar, and to live by this nectar.
The unfortunate reality of much of the religious system, however, is this…we have been distracted with seeking byproducts like ‘pollination’ instead of seeking ‘nectar’. In the life of the honey bee, pollination naturally happens because of the pursuit of nectar. It is important to note that the honey bee does not pursue ‘pollination’ in its attempt to find the nectar. That’s what much of evangelicalism has done, and as a result, we have forgotten how to find ‘nectar’. A great example of this can be seen in a participatory blog post that I wrote last week.
The participatory blog that I wrote last week just might be one of my favorite yet. This blog was simply an invitation to express love to the person of Jesus Christ through the dedication of a song. Brothers and sisters in Christ who were able to behold Christ through a variety of different songs began to post these songs to the blog. I was overwhelmed. What was noteworthy to me, however, was who was eerily silent from that participatory blog post.
I am aware of a number of institutional clergy that regularly read this blog. Some of them engage me in conversation and post comments about the things that I post here even though they do not always agree. Although last week’s participatory blog post was simply an expression of love to Christ, not one clergy member chose to participate that I am aware of. Could it be because we were not talking about ‘pollination’ or strategies of method & church structure? Their silence spoke volumes to me.
(If you have not yet gotten the chance to read and listen to the songs posted to that blog post, let me strongly encourage you to do so. You will be immensely blessed by clicking here)
As we focus on the nectar of life, we’ll find that ‘pollination’ will occur in ways that we could never ask, think, or imagine.
For the Nectar of Life,
Jamal Jivanjee
For Further Reading, Please Read: Missional Confusion & The Amway Gospel…an assessment of a movement
Right on brother… I love it… 8D
Thx for reading Lenny:)
What a SWEET blog post. I love it brother! Let the Nectar flow!
Thx Milt:)
So, as a former beekeeper, I have to ask: Are you saying by their nectar ye shall know them, or by their pollin ye shall know them?
Amen!
This is really rich. It makes such a profound reality so simple.
That’s encouraging to hear Seth. Thx for reading:)
Speaking in parables, I see
Love you, brother!
Wow!!!! In my pursuit to seek the Nectar (Christ) I became focused on pollination without realizing it. Thank God that Christ spoke into my heart and told me that I am becoming a “Busy Bee” and not spending time abiding in Him. Wonderful imagery that you gave with your words.
Caridad,
I appreciate your honesty about this. It is rare today. It is always a temptation to focus on the externals and what is seen than to focus on Him that is internal and unseen by the faculties of the flesh. Thanks for reading.
wow Jeremy this is rich with meaning. this analogy works for the significance of Christ is represented in nectar, we also can see the community displayed in the hive as this depicts the church, the selflessness of the bees is a example of humility, and honey the fruit of this labor of love.
lots to ponder here, thank once again bro!
Thx for reading Jim. I appreciate your encouragement:)
This is just so refreshing and an incredible visual for me on this beautifully sunny day – I’ve been talking about the importance of bees with my children lately in regards to pollination etc… can’t wait to tell them all about what you’ve shared with all of us today – AWESOME!!!
Love this analogy! And it made me smile when I read it, cause just a little earlier, as I’m sitting at my desk working and fellowshiping with the Lord in my heart, I said to Him “Lord you are the sweet rose of Sharon, you are the lily of the valleys, the bright and morning star, always fresh! Oh how wonderful His aroma and how sweet His taste in our spirits!
Beeing in Christ takes on a whole new perspective with this article Jamal.
Wonderful post Jamal! Such a great picture of life & healthy pursuits in His kingdom.
What a wonderful picture of the Bridegroom and His Bride!!
Good stuff bro!
great analogy brother! A new understanding of how to look at our life together in Christ!
I think people can be off track from Jesus in two different sides of the fence here.
On one hand, you have people who lose sight of Jesus because of all their methods, works, and how-to teachings. For those people, this blog entry is absolutely on point.
On the other hand, I’ve seen people make a doctrine out of focusing on Christ to the point where they forget that Christ is full of ideas and topics and commands. Out of the overflow of Christ, sometimes He calls to His people to get together and discuss a certain aspect of their life in him – maybe that aspect IS pollination that day, or the Great Commission, or something. When it’s of Him, it’s right, it’s good, and it results in more and more vision of the depths of who He is to us and in us.
Both extremes need to be addressed.
Heather,
Thanks for reading sister, and for sharing your comment. I can only speak from my experience, but I don’t see this being a ‘balance’ as you have stated. I’m certainly not talking about “making a doctrine out of focusing on Christ”, rather, I am talking about simply focusing on the person of Jesus Christ. Having a focus entirely on the person of Christ is never the problem. The problem is actually when we try to ‘balance’ Him with all the other things.
While there are works and endeavors that naturally come out of the overflow of living by His life, none of these things should ever become our focus and pursuit. I actually wrote about this here: http://jamaljivanjee.com/?p=1399
Excellent! A wonderfully simple illustration that nudges me, yet again, nearer to the only thing that matters… JESUS.
Thanks brother!!!
Amen Josh!
Interesting post. I had to read it three times. I kept getting sidetracked by facts about bees. Honey Bees are not native to the western hemisphere. The native plants got along fine with other pollinators before Europeans introduced honey bees in the early 1600s. Sort of like the church got along fine before things like pastor/laity, big buildings, etc. got introduced. Bees need both nector and pollen to survive. The pollen is used to feed the baby bees just like baby Christians need spiritial milk. Bees and plants are symbiotes. The plants can’t survive without the pollinators and the pollinators need the nutrition from the plants. You will know them by their fruit. The bee’s fruit is honey. I personally can’t eat the local honey because the bees are used to pollinate citrus trees and I am allergic to citrus. I happen to really like fireweed honey which the bees make from the nector/pollen of the fireweed plant in the Northwest where I used to live. Now we see as through a darkened glass but when we see him and are like him we will understand better.
Interesting facts Linda, thx for sharing!
Beautiful and perfect analogy of what, or rather who, our complete focus should be on. All the “things” are simply natural byproducts that come from knowing and living in Christ. They cannot be separated from the person of Jesus Christ. To focus on the “things” would be counter-productive to our journey in Christ. Thanks Jamal!
Hey Brother Jamal,
I’ve been following your blog for a while and have been hugely blessed by it. This post definitely knocked my socks off. Thank you for continuing to show me Christ through many lenses. Hope to meet someday
Ralph,
I am very encouraged to know that the blog in general, and this post specifically, has helped you see Christ better. That brings joy to my heart! I’m also looking forward to meeting you as well!
Awesome. It’s great to realize that we’re meant to seek what satisfies us and energizes us, not getting burnt out by a distorted and lifeless idea of duty. And it’s Christ, like nectar abd honey
Just as honey bees are instinctively led to mine for nectar, we as His bride are led to ‘mine’ for expressions, understandings, and experiences of and ‘in’ Christ. This isn’t a manufactured position, or a duty, it is an expression of the Life that has been poured into our lives. It is an organic response from the Life that we abide ‘in’, and share with ‘one another’.
Just as the by product of this nectar ‘mining’ results in honey, or lives express the by product of Christ…and it is Love.
This expression of Love through us is natural, unassuming, and childlike. We Love because He is Love, and this Love lives within us. Again Love is equal to honey, and a community of bees will live on honey, yet in a healthy community there is ample honey to share with those outside of the community. This again reflects the body of Christ. We love ‘one another’, and we love all. Love is the material that bridges in all relationships are constructed with. We express this Love naturally, we are not in the ‘love’ business, its just like honey, a by product.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Wonderful imagery Brother, and right on target. Keep letting His Spirit guide you in your writing. I have gladly shared this in the prayer that more will come to this conclusion in regards to “missional” or “making disciples”.
Thanks for reading Daniel.
Amen and Amen! I was confused, disappointed and so hurt as I had to leave the religious institution and asked God many times why it had to happen to me. I remember you told me that it was by the grace of God that it happened!! As time goes by and I get to see the fruit of the separation, I am overwhelmed by His grace. I was shocked as everything happened but I am rather shocked here on earth than standing in front of Him someday and being shocked because He never knew me. Your blog is a great comfort. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing sister. I am glad this blog has been a comfort to you.