For a week or so a florist had been bothered by ants that got into a box of seeds on a shelf. To get rid of the ants here is what he did: He put a very meaty bone close by, which the ants soon discovered; every one deserting the boxes of seeds. As soon as the bone became thickly inhabited by the little creepers, the florist tossed it into a tub of water. After washing off the ants, the bone was again used as a trap. Then the florist thought that he would save trouble by placing the bone in the center of a sheet of fly-paper, thinking the ants would get caught on the sticky fly-paper while trying to reach the food. The florist was surprised to find that the ants, upon discovering the nature of the paper trap, formed a working force and built a path on the paper clear to the bone. Each ant would bring a grain of sand, place it on the fly-paper and let the next ant do the same. For hours the ants worked, and when the path was completed they made their way over its dry surface in couples, as in a march, to the bone.

As we think about this illustration about these incredible ants, some spiritual applications may come to mind. In this world, we are the ants, and the bone is heaven. The devil will throw all sorts of obstacles in our way to keep us from reaching our goal. Thankfully, God has already laid the path that we need to take in order to reach this goal, all we have to do is follow it. However, when we step off of the trail, we take a serious risk of getting caught in the sticky traps this world has to offer.

It can be so easy to step off of the path. There are many things that pull our attention away and attract us off of the path. As we know, there is terrible danger in doing this. Let’s remember this illustration about the ants and keep in mind the sticky traps this world has for those who stray off of the path of righteousness. Let’s keep pressing towards the goal and keep on the path that leads to heaven.

–Brett Petrillo