a few things about bees

hmmm, interesting.

by Maria Griffin..a person from the internet whom I have never met

Lately, my interest in beekeeping has propelled me to read about bees. I never realized how interesting and intricate they truly are.
Their lives are highly structured and each bee performs specific tasks. There are three classes of bees. The queen bee, the worker bees, and the drones.

The worker bees are mulittaskers. They nurse the young. They find food, they make honey, they prepare the hive. Did you know that there are worker bees that act as "undertakers"? When bees die, the worker bees remove the bodies of the bees and place them in a specific area.  They only live a few months because they literally work themselves to death.  Of course, if they are born shortly before winter..they live a few months longer so that they can fulfill their duties of keeping the other bees warm in winter. 

The other day I read about how the bees dance. They communicate through pheremones, a bodily chemical that sends messages, and through dancing.

The length of a bees dance tells the other bees the distance of the food and water supplies. A short dance means that food and water are close by.. a long and detailed dance choreograph tells the other bees the food is far away..spread your wings and prepare for flight. I think the dance even tells the direction and location that the food can be found.

Bees are fascinating.  One hive yields between 120 - 250 pounds of honey a year.

Queen bees send off signals that tell the bees when to find food and when to make little cubicles for the young to be born...

Drones are designated as the queens mate. They don't have stingers. Thier only job is to replenish the hive by making baby bees. 

Did you know that when a bee stings, his stinger rips apart from his abdomen and he dies on the spot.
They literally risk their lives to protect the queen and the young. 

Of course, everyone who knows me ..knows that I have to parallel this to the Christian walk.
As Christians, each of us has a specific task or purpose. We belong to a body..and a body is made up of many parts....each of us has a task before us and a job that God has given us.. Each of us has something that makes us unique... We are like"listener" bees...or "encourager" , minister bees or teacher bees...each of us has special gifts that God gives... Such as the gift of love or discernment..or building up the other members...

1 Corinthians 12

12:4 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 12:5 And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. 12:6 And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 12:7 To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 12:8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 12:10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 12:11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.

We are called to lay down our lives for others in the way that Jesus laid down his life for us.. We are called to protect one another.

John 12:25 ESV

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Lastly, we are called to bear fruit.. We are called to be "producers" As the bee produces honey and lives productively, we are called to be productive in our own lives. Jesus tells us how to achieve this..
I am the vine and you are the branches, remain in Me and you will bear much fruit...
By staying close to the heart of Jesus, we become more like Him..As He changes us..we begin to act and think differently....we learn the value of humility and sacrifice. We come to know love in it's greatest and most beautiful form..and this manifests itself  through our deeds and actions. Bearing fruit is a beautiful thing.

Adios, peeps..

I hope your life is long. I pray you enjoy the journey..and I hope that your dance and the beautiful story of your life points to source of bread and living water.