We can learn a lot from what God has designed in nature. Take the honeybee for instance. A close observation would reveal seemingly tireless workers. They routinely will carry dirty foreign matter out of the hive to keep their product clean and pure. Some of them faithfully take care of the one queen bee that is responsible for laying the eggs that will hatch and ensure the growth of the colony. Most of the bees spend their daylight hours flying as far as three miles in one direction to find flowering plants from which nectar can be gathered and then fly back to the hive with their cargo – time after time, day after day to the end of their lifespan. There are numerous and obvious spiritual lessons we can learn from God’s design.
Electricity is another of God’s designs. We each have electrical currents that work within our bodies. Electricity is required for the nervous system to send signals throughout the body and to the brain, making it possible for the heart to stay in rhythm, and for us to be able to think, move and feel. It is essential for life. Inherent in this life sustaining design is the coupling of both a positive and negative charge. Without both charges we would die. There is an obvious spiritual lesson in this for us as well.
God’s Ten Commandments are essentially stated in the negative – “You shall not.” They are stated in the negative, but they produce the positive. The Apostle Paul, wrote “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9-10). Love is the end product of this negatively stated law. How positive is that!
But let’s understand how this works on a personal level. God’s law informs us of the way that leads to life – it gives us the knowledge of right and wrong. It does not give us the righteous character that will always express itself in love. That comes with choosing good and doing it.
Then, once knowledge has been acquired and the right decision has been made, there are two things that must happen. First, there must be self-restraint against all negatives — self-desires, habits, and impulses — that God’s law has made us mindful of. Secondly, there must be a very positive zeal and drive to change the self into something godly. Both polarities, the negative and the positive, complete the spiritual circuit so that there can be light and life and the development of God’s very character.
To have a truly good life, we have to complete that spiritual positive/negative circuit time after time and day after day to the end of our lifespan.
Marshall Stiver