Dung Beetles Everywhere

I entered the hospital room expecting to see a very grim picture: The phone call I received from a parishioner stated that Sister Nell was on her deathbed.  When I arrived, however, Sister Nell was sitting up in bed, looking more alive and radiant than I had ever seen her.  My surprise was obvious when I exclaimed, “What are you doing here?!”  The meaning of my question was that this was not a deathbed picture.  Nell answered my question with an excited smile and anticipation, saying, “I’m going home, Brother Dave!”  Now, Nell did not mean an earthly address.  I had come to anoint Sister Nell and pray over her the prayer of faith as instructed in James 5:13-15, but she said it wasn’t necessary because she was going home.  I said I’d pray for God’s perfect will in the matter, considering that I was anointing her body for departure.  We talked about the things of God for a while and Sister Nell told me that before, she was afraid, but now, she was full of glorious expectation.  A nurse entered the room with medication, which Nell declined, telling the young man that there was no need for medication because she was going home.  Nell was waiting for her sister to arrive from Georgia so that she could say goodbye.  I asked Sister Nell to carry a message to the other side from the saints at Maranatha Chapel.  After a short while, several saints and other friends arrived, so I said my goodbyes to Sister Nell.  Shortly after my visit, Nell’s sister arrived; after a few hours, Sister Nell, in the full spirit of victory, entered into the Blessed Hope: eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Surely I Corinthians 15:54-55: was fulfilled:

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

That’s how the born-again go. 

Have you been born again?  If today were your last day on this earth, how would you go?  Are you ready to shake off this carnal dust and put on the mind of Jesus Christ?  Will today be the day your sin and shame are totally expunged?  It’s your choice.  Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.  

GOD SAID, Philippians 3:8:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

GOD SAID, Job 1:20:

And said, Naked came I out of my mother''s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

GOD SAID, Luke 12:16-21:

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

MAN SAID: Wow!  He’s a billionaire! 

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God speaks to Adam in Genesis 3:19:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Scientists were surprised to discover that the mineral content of the human body mirrors that of the dirt.  What they discovered was always obvious to the children of faith. 

We were created out of dust and to dust we will return—it’s what we do between the dust that matters.  I know it initially comes as a surprise, but our earthen vessels—our bodies—are simply recycled mud. Everything with which we have to do in this physical world is basically constructed out of dust.  The paper money men live and die for—just recycled mud.  It reminds one of Monopoly™ money—just recycled dirt. 

Keeping things in proper balance in this life is essential for a successful journey.  Dr. James Johnson helps set things in order in the January 2017 issue of Acts and Facts under the heading “Dung Beetles: Promoters of Prairie Preservation.”  Much of the feature follows:

Imagine the life of a dedicated dung beetle: collecting, moving, and hoarding dung—even raising its children on it.  Talk about a lowly existence!  Yet, from the dung beetle’s perspective, it’s completely normal; dung is what its life is all about. 

Consider the valuable ecological service the dung beetle provides as it mundanely moves manure morsels.  It uses herbivore-dropped manure to benefit itself and its family, as well as the habitat in which it crawls around.  What is so valuable about herbivore feces that dung beetles actually fight over dung balls, energetically “stealing the ball” from one another as if dung ball-grabbing were an Olympic soccer game? 

Although often ignored or reviled, insects are cornerstones of the prairie ecosystem: they spread seeds and pollen, [metabolically] break down plants, fertilize the soil [e.g., by distributing nitrates in the herbivore manure they spread], and provide food for birds and small mammals.  Not quite an inch long, the dung beetle…uses its scoop-like head to roll a ball of dung sometimes as large as an apple.  Once satisfied with its compacted [artwork], the beetle buries it, feeds on it, and then lays its eggs in it [after crafting an air hole for each deposited egg].  When the larvae hatch, they finish off whatever remains of the ball.  In this way, dung beetles assure themselves of a reliable diet and, inadvertently, distribute seeds that may be rolled up within the dung. 

Dung beetles serve themselves and their progeny by accumulating and storing the dung of grazing animals (e.g., pronghorns or cattle).  While doing so, they serve the ecological needs of their neighborhood by transporting nutritious nitrates to other locations, as well as loose seeds that get mixed in.  Thus, life-growing seeds and helpful fertilizer are simultaneously distributed to new sites for seed germination.  Think of dung beetles as slow-motion couriers and farmers who provide a seed-sowing service!  

Are these dung beetles being altruistic environmentalists, caring about their native ecosystem?  No, dung beetles don’t study biome ecology; they don’t select seed-sowing sites to promote the nutrient dynamics of American prairies. 

Rather, the mutualistic symbiosis we see exhibited in prairie habitats—where cattle provide resources to dung beetles, which help plant the next generation of grasses, which in turn feed the cattle—is a composite and interactive display of God’s preplanning genius and bioengineering.  It is God who is multitasking on the great grassy plains, working above and below the surface to provide habitat for plants and animals while simultaneously providing for human needs. 

This seemingly lowly insect is but one valuable gem of God’s handiwork in the plains of the Great West.  We can see that even the dung beetle glorifies God, providentially promoting prairie preservation in plain view—if we look carefully at what’s happening in the grass beneath our feet.  [End of quotes]

Dung itself is recycled mud.  Food—constructed from the earth—is eaten, its nutrients extracted by the digestive system, and the rest, as dung, is cast out of the body and recycled into dust.  When Ehud slew Eglon, the king of Moab, Judges 3:22 reads:  “…and the dirt came out.” 

Like the dung beetle who is convinced that dung—recycled mud—is the center of the universe and the thing to be most desired, the unredeemed’s choice of recycled mud—money—is the center of their universe.  The bigger the pile, the more esteemed; the more esteemed, more of life’s fruits can be lavished upon themselves and their own. 

Like the dung beetle whose dung ball other dung beetles try to steal, wranglers of all sorts attempt to steal away man’s pile of recycled mud.  A world full of scammers attack and thieves break in to steal.  As is the plight of the dung beetle, so it is of mankind. 

It’s a stark reality, but a reality that requires serious consideration.  When a man dies, he will fill the hole he ate in the earth.  At that moment of death, the pile of mud he has accumulated will not be his anymore.  His bank account will not be his; his home will not be his; his motorcycle, car, clothing, dog—even his spouse—will not be his anymore.  His body will be recycled into the earth and his accumulated pile will soon follow.  Job 1:20:

And said, Naked came I out of my mother''s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Thank God for the glorious solution to this bleak reality!  Jesus Christ calls it born again (John 3:3).  At this miraculous place, the conversion process begins.  Imagine the marvel of marvels where you can turn your pile of recycled mud into eternal wealth—even the crowns the redeemed will lay at the feet of Christ.  The King of Glory frames it perfectly in Matthew 6:19-21:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Dr. Johnson refers to the verse penned by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:8:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Life is just a vapor, dust to dust, a test—a test we cannot afford to flunk. 

GOD SAID, Philippians 3:8:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

GOD SAID, Job 1:20:

And said, Naked came I out of my mother''s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

GOD SAID, Luke 12:16-21:

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

MAN SAID: Wow!  He’s a billionaire! 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Johnson, J., “Dung Beetles: Promotors of Prairie Preservation,” Acts and Facts, January 2017

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