The grotesque, snarling face of the elephant seal filled the
TV screen as I viewed a recent nature program.
The battle of the huge animals was to determine who would be the master
the herd.
After their offspring were born, the young also had to
battle for survive. Some were crushed
beneath the giant bodies of other females or their own fathers, while others
who got too far from their mothers’ sides were injured by the snapping jaws of
other mothers. Most lived until they
could make it into the relative safety of the water nearby but many did not.
In nature, it’s survival of the fittest. From the largest creatures to the minutest,
it’s a constant battle to live and procreate.
We’ve seen the silvery salmon determinedly wrenching and
beating their bodies to climb upstream to breed. These fish have a built-in mechanism that
propels them toward achieving their goal.
It’s do or die in the attempt.
Did God intend us to learn certain physical and even
spiritual principles from studying the habits of these marvelous creatures He
designed and brought into being? Yes,
indeed He did.
We too have a battle on our hands. We can be thankful, for most of us; it’s not
a battle for physical survival. We
aren’t obliged to kill or be killed in a never ending struggle for the right to
live and procreate our kind.
We are in a battle however.
And it can be described as survival of the fittest. For that’s what it is, only in a spiritual
sense. The rewards don’t go necessarily
to those who are the strongest physically, the most agile or with the keenest
senses. Nor to the most beautiful and
talented or to the most intelligent. God
has designed other ways to test who is spiritually the fittest.
How important is it to win in this struggle? It’s all important, because it’s not just
temporary physical existence that is at stake but our lives for all eternity.
What about the losers in the animal kingdom, those that
don’t survive, and those wind up as food in the winner’s stomach? Why weren’t they the fittest? Let’s analyze their weaknesses.
Some losers wandered nonchalantly about, grazing here and
there as they pleased, unalert and unaware of danger. Easy prey for the predator.
Others overestimated their strength. Striking out on their own they sometimes even
disdained nourishment – food and water – until suddenly they were all alone and
in a weakened state.
Some started out well, ever alert, growing stronger through
experience in conquering the odds but as time went on they grew careless, weary
of being on alert, tried of the constant battle.
The young who unwisely strayed from the protection of their
mothers’ sides also became easy targets.
Others were caught in fierce storms without proper shelter.
They are many reasons the relatively few win out in nature’s
battles while the majority end up as the victor’s lunch. All share, however a common characteristic of
losers – a grave underestimation of the enemy and of what it takes to be a
winner.
The apostle Peter warned us about spiritually
underestimating our enemy, read I Peter 5:8.
He’s out there, all the time, stalking us, looking for a
weakness he can exploit. Are we daily,
fervently, asking for God’s protection in this jungle where Satan is king? Or do we nonchalantly go about our business
every day, oblivious to any danger?
Or maybe we’re the strong independent type who goes out to
face the world without sufficient spiritual nourishment. No time for prayer or Bible study this
morning, we’ve got important things to accomplish. We’ll pray and study later. But it may be later than we think.
Are we weary of well doing?
We’ve been in the Church for years.
Ministers and brethren all over the country know who we are. Haven’t we gained a lifetime membership in
the Church? God understands what we’ve
been through, why we’ve let down in our standards. Surely what we’ve accomplished in the past
counts for something.
Do we try to get as close to the edge of the cliff as
possible, try to stay out on the fringes yet still be part of God’s church?
We’re courting disaster if we do.
Winning in this spiritual battle God has called us to be a
lot tougher than we think. If it isn’t
tough for you right now, you are neglecting something. God doesn’t promise everyone is going to make
it. It’s those who endure to the end.
Are your girding your loins – staying close to God – and
fighting your spiritual battles daily against this world, self and Satan so you
will be one of those winners God and Christ will honor in the Kingdom? Read I Corinthians 9:24.
God wants us to win.
He has opened up access to Him and given us His Spirit and provided His
word and His church. We have no excuse
if we neglect this “so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). Remember, it’s survival of the fittest – the
spiritually fittest.
