Most of us do not give much thought to insects. In fact, most of the time we walk over them, crushing them to their deaths without even realizing it.
Sometimes it is deliberate. If you go to your local supermarket, there is a whole shelf full of chemicals to exterminate ants, mosquitoes, flies and so on. We see insects simply as bugs, a nuisance to be gotten rid of.
However, God did not create insects simply to bug us when we are trying to have a nice time outdoors on a summer evening. All of creation reflects something of God and his grace towards us. They are food, farming aids, etc.
Sometimes he uses them to send messages to us. Often they have to bug us because we dont listen. For example, when you see an ant, dont just kill it without first getting the message it is bringing. The morning after your braai, you may find your dustbin full of ants. They are delivering a message. Perhaps the message is: Dont be wasteful in the good times. Save for the bad times. Ants store up food in the summer when the times are good (Proverbs 30:25). It does not mean you should not get rid of the ants. It simply means dont throw the baby out with the bath water.
Day of the sun
Sometimes the message from the insects is simply to remind us that we are like them in some ways, even though we dont like them. For example, insects are attracted to light. Humans were also created to be attracted to light, just like insects, although for different reasons. The writer of the biblical book of Genesis tells us that the very first thing God created was light. On the first day of the Genesis creation account, God said, let there be light! (Genesis 1:3). I believe it is no coincidence that the first day of the week is called Sunday, that is, the Day of the Sun, which is the source of all light in the world. I know the origin of Sunday comes from Sun worship, not the creation account. That does not mean that God cannot use it to convey his providence and grace.
The source of all light in the universe is not the sun. The sun is a sign of the real source of light. That source is God. Our attraction to light is an innate attraction to God, who is the true light. In the gospel of John we are told that Jesus was that true light which came into the world (John 1:9). He came to attract humans to God. When you read the gospel accounts, you cannot but notice that wherever Jesus went, thousands of people flocked to see him, hear him, touch him and eat with him. He came to attract us to the light, in other words, to God. In his own words, Jesus said, I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me wont have to stay any longer in the dark (John 12:46 MSG).
Indeed John says that was the message they heard from Jesus. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light…. (1 John 1:5 NLT). As children of God, Christians are also called children of light. Paul also uses this theme when he tells the Ephesians, …Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8 NKJV).
No more sun or moon
One of the largest religions in the history of humanity is sun worship. I believe this was a misplaced counterfeit of humanitys innate desire to worship the source of light, that is, God. Unfortunately, humans saw the sun as the source of light, not realizing that God created the sun to be a sign that points to him as the true light.
In the new heaven and new earth, there will be no sun or moon according to the book of Revelation. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light… (Revelation 21:23-24 NKJV).
The next time you see the bugs coming to your light, dont just see them as a nuisance. Remember the message they are bringing. You are like them. You are also attracted to light. You are a child of light. You live in the light. You are the light in Jesus Christ.
Every night as the sun goes down, we all disappear into our houses until the next morning when the sun comes up. As the sun rises, the world becomes alive again. That is just how it is. The sun is a daily sign that reminds us of our innate desire for light, for God. Dont miss the lesson each morning. Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2).