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Oh To Be Wise Meditations
Leafcutter Ants are Farmers Who Grow Fungi. You may have seen the impressive spectacle of a leafcutter ant highway, full of millions of bugs carrying cut sections of leaves, grass or flowers back to their homes, but did you know that leafcutter ants don’t eat the leaves that they harvest? Leafcutter ants use leaves as their fertilizer to grow their crop: fungus. They cultivate their fungal gardens by providing them with freshly cut leaves, protecting them from pests and molds, and clearing them of decayed material and garbage. In return, the fungus acts as a food source for the ants' larvae. The ants are so sensitive to the fungi’s needs that they can detect how they are responding to a certain food source and change accordingly. This symbiotic relationship also benefits from a bacterium that grows on the ants’ bodies and secretes antimicrobials, which the ants use to protect their fungi. Here is link if you want to learn more about these amazing insects. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/did-you-know-leafcutter-ants-are-farmers-who-grow-fungi#:~:text=Farming.,source%20for%20the%20ants'%20larvae.
Amazing how God can use these little creatures to inspire. We can learn a lot from their intuition and drive. They gather pieces of leaves and cultivate it into a special fungus they need. They don't eat the leaves they use it to produce and bear fruit. The same could be said about our trials and tribulations. We can let them produce the special crop of faith in us or allow the enemy to eat up our time as quick as hungry locusts. One thing we can never run out of is God's grace found in Christ. It is the evergreen leaf that is provided for us to overcome this life, this world. Work hard like these little ones and trust in the process of salvation. It will reap a peaceable fruit of faith that will last for eternity. I love that it says these ants are so sensitive to the fungi's needs because they have a symbiotic relationship. Meaning: Biologists and ecologists define a symbiotic relationship as an intimate interaction between two or more species, which may or may not be beneficial to either. I see that in relation to our faith produced by Holy Spirit in us. Giving us a faith like substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? There is a symbiotic relationship we have with Christ Jesus. Nature is full of symbiotic relationships, such as the honey bee and flower, the clown fish and anemone, and your gut and the prokaryotic intestinal bacteria living inside it. Amazing how faith is produced in us through his power and resurrection, and in fellowship with his sufferings. Yes, no one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. By your patient endurance you will gain your souls. Another thought I will leave you to wrestle with is the symbiotic nature humans have with sin. But I digress, what's more important is our relationship to God by faith through grace. Oh the mystery of faith, of how God can save sinners through the purpose and plan of the Gospel. There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world. We have plenty of ants to learn and discover from. This will be the first of many posts of one of Gods tiniest and biggest hearts. Amen
Meditate Prov. 6:6