Honeycombs and the Kingdom

"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

I have been contemplating the word honeycomb for a couple of days, now, using the one word bible method. I kept thinking of this major complex design of a honeycomb. A honeycomb is a structure built by honeybees from their own wax to hold their babies and the food for their babies to eat. Honeybees work their whole lives to build the honeycomb, collect pollen, and then fill the honeycomb with honey for food.

But the Father has shown me such a simple depiction of the word honeycomb especially in relation to this verse. It is not complex at all. I adore this picture that the Father has given us from his perfect creation of honeybees. If we use gracious words that are so filled with His grace with everyone we meet, then it plays a small but integral part of continuing His work to build and nourish His children all over this world. We must fill people up with grace to nourish and encourage for His kingdom and His glory.

It is not going to be easy, though. Honeybees work their whole lives for their purpose, and we must work hard to fulfill this purpose for the Father. Because we are not perfect, we are human. Our natural instinct since the fall is not to be kind to one another. Our natural instinct is to fall victim to the flesh. I was reminded of this idea on Wednesday at a new small group that the Lord has blessed me with.  It requires work to battle our flesh. We were discussing the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, as well as, the list of desires by our flesh at the beginning of the chapter. The Fruit of the Spirit is a much shorter list, yet love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control seem so much more difficult to live by in our busy world. 

It requires work on our part to battle our flesh and live by the Fruit of the Spirit. Thankfully, the Father has sent us a helper in the Holy Spirit so we don't have to go it alone. He also provides community in our friends, neighbors, and church. But we must work. We must actively try to be kind and gracious to others with our words and actions to fill people up for His people and His glory just like God's little worker bees and His honeycomb.

-I am not