“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10a, NIV.)
Recently, our church held an outdoor “chili cookoff” event to raise money for mission projects. I was fascinated by dragonflies darting about as we sat at our tables on the lawn. I thought of the faithfulness of those who participated so the Gospel will be spread, but then the sight of dragonflies reminded me: God gives us our faithfulness. I’ll explain.
I remembered a childhood experience. When we were young, my sister and I sometimes rode our bikes to the A&W drive-in for a mug of root beer, costing 10 cents, and then pedaled to the city park, where we would head straight for the swing. The tall swing had sling seats, and chains instead of ropes. I’d work to arc as high as I could. Sometimes, as I slept that night, I would have a wonderful dream where I could leap off the ground and fly with ease. Oh, how I loved those flying dreams! Alas, God didn’t give me wings, or the ability to fly like Superman.
In His wisdom, He bestowed the ability to fly on many of His creatures, such as the remarkable dragonfly. There are over 5,000 species, including skimmers, darners, hawkers, club tails, tiger tails, petal tails, saddlebags and emeralds, and others.
Dragonflies live near water places, like canals, ponds, lakes and rivers, and spend most of their lives as water nymphs, and go through several molts until they shed their final immature skin, leave the water, and transform into the adult flying dynamo we observe. They have two sets of wings that can work independently, and can hover, fly straight up and down, make hairpin turns, and even mate in midair. They can see nearly 360 degrees, and have a 95% success rate in killing their prey. A single dragonfly can eat hundreds of mosquitoes per day!
If a dragonfly can’t fly, it will starve, as they only eat prey they catch in the air. As you can see from their description, God has provided dragonflies with special abilities to suit their needs and thrive. The Bible speaks to God’s sovereignty over all creatures.
“Even birds and animals have much they could teach you; ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom. All of them know that the Lord’s hand made them. It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power” (Job 12:7-10, GNT.)
God is always faithful and true to His Word. The dragonfly shows us He can be trusted in a little thing, so we can trust Him with all of life’s difficulties, no matter the size. We can rely on Him, and rest assured that He won’t change.
“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord” (Psalm 33:4, NIV.)
While God is faithful, people, not so much. When troubles come our way, we’re fearful, fickle, have trust issues, doubt what we see with our own eyes, doubt because of what we see with our eyes, and forget Who God is. Despite our lack of faithfulness, God remains faithful.
“Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own]” (1 Thessalonians 5:24, AMP.)
So how does the God of all creation make us holy? The Spirit indwells every believer, and works to mold us into the likeness of Christ. He cultivates the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts, including the Christ-like characteristic of faithfulness.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:22-25, NLT.)
Changing the believer into Christ-likeness is the sole province of the Spirit. My part is faith, and even that is a gift from God. When I humble myself, and submit to God’s will, and live in obedience to His will, when I choose to trust Him, even when I want something else, I invite the Spirit to cultivate the fruit in me. I mature as a Christian. I shed my old nature, like the dragonfly, and become more Christ-like, including the characteristic of faithfulness. If unbelievers see through us the trustworthy, steadfast nature of our Lord Jesus, unchanging in the hardest of times, some will want Jesus in their lives.
Perhaps, John the Baptist foreshadowed this dynamic of life in Christ
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, KJV.)
Christian, you and I may be the only Christ an unbeliever ever sees, their only opportunity to receive Christ and experience the joy of living for Him.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9, NIV.)
Dr. Charles Stanley wrote, “Passing on our faith occurs when we demonstrate openly those truths that we clutch in our hearts. To remain dedicated to the cause of Christ, even when it is difficult, shows that our faith is more than just a passing fancy or another religion. It shows it is a faith worth imitating” (Pathways To His Presence, Charles F Stanley, c. 2006.)
It would be exhilarating to do aerial maneuvers like a dragonfly, but so much more to walk in obedience to the Spirit, so others may see the Savior, Jesus Christ, through me.
Selah.