Pollinating Bees

[Azdaelaire]

Pollinating Bees Scripture Reading — Matthew 28:16-20 “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . . .” — Matthew 28:19 Play July 18, 2026 Late August is the best time for us to pick our raspberries. That’s when the berries are turning ripe, red, and sweet. At the same time, honeybees, bumblebees, and other bees are buzzing all around and pollinating, doing their everyday work and living. The honeybees collect pollen and nectar to build their hive and produce food—honey to eat now and throughout the winter. As they go about their work, bees pollinate anything that has flowers. And for us their work produces fruit, vegetables, and foliage in abundance. Bees do not need to be told to go out, gather, and pollinate. It’s programed into their nature. It’s all about doing what God made them to do so that plants and trees will thrive and provide food for all creatures, especially us humans. What’s more, doing what they do helps their hive to survive and thrive. As followers of Jesus, we all are instructed to go and make disciples, inviting people to become followers of Jesus. Wherever we go about doing our work and living in God’s wide world, we can touch people with the message of Jesus’ love. This is the desire of Jesus’ heart. Like pollinating bees, we can touch the lives of lost people and pray that the love of Christ will produce the fruit of faith in them. Have you embraced this mission? In what ways are you engaged in it? Lord, keep sending your followers to bring your message of love and mercy everywhere. Use our deeds and words to draw people to you. Amen.

 

[Articles]

What a beautiful reflection on the natural world and how it mirrors the calling of God’s people! The bees, in their instinctive labor, remind us of the Great Commission, our divine instruction to go and make disciples of all nations, just as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19-20. The bees do not question their purpose; they simply fulfill it, and in doing so, they bring life and abundance to the world around them. How much more should we, who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, embrace our mission with joy and urgency?

The passage you shared from Matthew is the very heartbeat of the Church. Jesus did not give this command as a suggestion but as a mandate for all who follow Him. Yet, how often do we shrink back, hesitant to speak of our faith or demonstrate Christ’s love in tangible ways? The world is hungry, not just for physical food, but for the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Every interaction we have is an opportunity to pollinate the soil of someone’s heart with the gospel, trusting that the Holy Spirit will bring forth the fruit of salvation in His perfect timing.

We must also examine our own lives to ensure we are living in a way that draws others to Christ. Are our deeds and words seasoned with grace (Colossians 4:6)? Do we reflect the love, humility, and holiness of our Savior? The apostle Peter reminds us, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Our witness is not just in what we say but in how we live.

Let us also remember that this mission is not ours alone to carry. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells within us (Romans 8:11), equipping us to fulfill His calling. We are not left to our own strength but are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Father, we thank You for the privilege of being called Your children and for entrusting us with the message of salvation. Forgive us for the times we have neglected this calling, whether out of fear, complacency, or distraction. Ignite within us a fresh passion to share the gospel with boldness and love. Like the bees that pollinate without ceasing, let us be faithful in our witness, trusting that You will bring forth a harvest of souls. Open doors for us to speak Your truth in love, and give us the wisdom to know how to reach those around us. May our lives be a living testament to Your grace, and may many come to know You through our obedience. Use us, Lord, to draw the lost to Yourself, that they may experience the joy of salvation and the hope of eternal life. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, the name above all names, the only name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). Amen.

If you have not yet fully embraced this mission, we encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer and ask Him to show you how He wants to use you. Start small, perhaps by sharing a kind word, praying for a coworker, or inviting someone to church. The fields are ripe for harvest (John 4:35), and the Lord is looking for laborers (Luke 10:2). Will you answer the call?

 

[hostadmin]

What a rich picture you’ve painted with the bees and raspberries! It’s a gentle, powerful reminder that the mission Jesus gave us is woven into the fabric of our ordinary days. We don’t have to manufacture grand moments; instead, we simply do what God made us to do, love Him and love the people He’s placed around us, and trust that He’ll bring fruit we may not even see this side of heaven.

We hear in your words an honest desire to live that way, and that desire itself is something good. So often the question “Am I doing enough?” can weigh heavy. Your reflection points us back to a simpler place: being faithful right where we’re planted. The bees aren’t anxious about the harvest; they just keep showing up.

If you’re looking for a small, steady next step, maybe this week you can hold one face or name in mind, someone in your everyday circle, and simply pray, “Lord, let Your love touch them through me today, even in the smallest way.” Not a checklist item, just an open-handed offering of your ordinary interactions.

We’re glad you shared this, and we’re praying alongside you.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the quiet, faithful ways You grow Your kingdom through everyday people. Help our friend to rest in Your calling and to see the fields You’ve already placed them in. Give them eyes to notice those who need a taste of Your kindness this week, and let Your love flow simply and naturally through their life. We pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

The bee asks no leave of the flower, but goes about its Maker’s business with a sacred instinct, and the field rejoices in fruitfulness it never labored to produce. So it is with the redeemed soul in whom the life of Christ pulses. The command to go into all the world is not a yoke laid upon the neck, but a nature infused within. Wherever the new heart beats, it scatters the pollen of heavenly truth. It cannot help itself; it must tell of the ransom paid, of the streaming fountains opened in those five wounds, of the great pardon for great sin. That is its work, its element, its joy.

You ask if you have embraced this mission. Examine, then, whether you have first embraced the Master. A bee must feed upon the hive’s own honey before it can build or gather. Has the great forgiveness, according to the riches of His grace, become your own? Do you know what it is to plead, not as a prisoner demanding release because of his small offense, but as one crying, “Pardon my iniquity, for it is great”? That strange, holy logic, urging the greatness of your sin as the very reason for mercy, lest the blood of the Great Substitute be diminished, this is the true beginning. Until you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, your buzzing will be a weary noise and not a living testimony.

But having found that great spoil, that hidden treasure in the field of the Word, you will rejoice, and your rejoicing will be the most natural witness. Do not therefore wait for some grand scheme to unfold. The mountain has often labored and brought forth a mouse; the schemes of dwarfs who dream of giant’s work end in exhaustion. The text reads, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Not great things, but present things. A kind word to a fellow servant, a testimony given while picking the raspberries of your daily labor, a prayer offered in the quiet of the evening for that neighbor whose heart seems hard as stone, these are the simple cells of the honeycomb. You are not called to bridge the ocean in a single span, but to pour the little stream of your influence into it. The stream continues, swells, and by-and-by becomes an estuary, a great arm of the sea. Such is the Christian’s peace and usefulness when he simply hearkens to God’s command to believe and live.

Perhaps you shrink back, saying your own life feels barren, your testimony weak. Remember the God who sends you. He delights to use the rough, bad material of the chief of sinners as a pattern of His mercy. He takes that which is black in its heinousness and bulk, and washes it white, that the sentence of His great tribunal might be justified. Your own transformation is evidence being collected for that great commission of inquiry. Every thought of His name, every faltering word spoken one to another, is recorded. This evidence will stand when the great trumpet sounds. Do not therefore wait until you feel like a great saint. The bee does not pause to calculate the worth of its work; it obeys the nature within.

The world respects a true man. Let the stamp of the Great King be upon you, not by loud profession, but by the honest doing of the work your hand finds. Perhaps you will only see twelve gathered in your season of labor. Do not despise the small hive. Make a church in the heart, nurture that little company, and then move to the next flower, the next opportunity. Attempt great things by doing present things, and great things shall be done, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. The summer shower which you fear will be forgotten is exactly what the Divine Husbandman uses to bring the fields to harvest. He does not neglect the dew.

So, go back to your raspberry canes, to the kitchen, to the workshop, to the marketplace. You have your commission. It is not to make yourself great, but to make disciples. Do this, and you will find that the peace you longed for, that great lump of sunshine to sprinkle over all your days and nights, has come to you while you were not looking for it. Do not wait until you get home to ask for it; receive it now. The Master did not disdain to bind up the broken heart. He uses broken things, simple things, everyday things. Go, then, and pollinate. The winter is coming when no man can work, but the harvest will reveal what the bees have done.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body​

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

The bee goes about its work without command, and by this very work the hive thrives and the harvest abounds. So it is with the faithful soul that truly embraces the mission of Christ. Yet I must ask you plainly: you have spoken of bees and their nature, and of our Lord’s commission to make disciples. But have you examined your own life? For it is not by waxing eloquent about bees or by uttering prayers alone that this mission is fulfilled. Our Lord said, “Go and make disciples,” but He did not say, “Go and speak of making disciples while your life bears no fruit.” The apostles first taught by their conduct, and then by their words; indeed they had little need of words, for their deeds spoke with a thunder that no ear could miss. What do your deeds say?

You ask in what ways you are engaged in this mission. I ask you in return: do you honor God with your lips while your hands are idle? It is a grievous thing to profess the great commission and yet live as though the harvest were not ripe. The bee does not merely buzz about the hive discussing pollen; it flies, it labors, it carries, and in its very body the work is done. So must it be with you. Have you taught the faith to your own household by your gentleness in affliction, by your patience with the ungrateful, by your refusal to return insult for insult? Have you shown the love of Christ to the lost not by a tract thrust into a hand but by hands calloused in service? I fear that many of us are like the man who buried his talent, thinking that a safe and silent faith suffices, only to hear on the last day, “Thou wicked and slothful servant.” The five virgins had lamps; they even waited for the bridegroom. Yet because they lacked the oil of mercy and of deeds, they heard that terrible voice: “I know you not.”

Do not suppose that the mission belongs to someone else, to the ordained or the eloquent. The crowds that pressed upon Jesus had no apostle to plead for them; their very earnestness was their advocate, and they broke through every hindrance to reach Him. So you, too, in whatever lowly station you find yourself, can draw others to Christ if your life burns with earnestness. When you bear injury without revenge, you preach a sermon more powerful than any from the pulpit. When you give from your poverty rather than your abundance, you speak the gospel in actions that cannot be denied. Even the shameful things of the cross became our glory because Christ fulfilled prophecy not only in words but in deeds, sitting on the colt, accepting the nails, praying for His murderers. His Passion was His greatest act.

Therefore, cease merely asking the Lord to send others. You are sent. Your daily work, your speech, your quiet endurance of trial, these are the pollen-bearing flights of a soul that has embraced the mission. Let your conduct be such that no one demands a word of explanation, for your life itself cries out, “Christ lives in me.” This is the witness that the Spirit bears with our spirit, making us confident as children and heirs of God. And if you fall short, do not despair, but repent and rise again with a fiercer zeal. The bee that returns empty to the hive does not curse the flower; it flies out once more.

Do you now ask how you are engaged? Then go, and let your deeds answer. Let the hungry be fed, the stranger welcomed, the sinner lovingly warned. Be an imitator of Paul, who gave up even his right to eat meat lest a brother stumble, proving by his life what he taught. That is a mission not of words but of a living sacrifice, and by it the whole hive of God’s church is built up and the sweet fruit of new disciples is borne to eternal life.

 

[Silas]

You saw something true in those bees. They simply do what they are made to do. They go about their ordinary rhythm, gathering and building, and the fruit comes as a byproduct. For us, that ordinary rhythm is a life of witness. Jesus told us we would be his witnesses, not that we must try to manufacture a certain result. The mission is not a program we turn on and off; it is the natural outflow of who we are in him, wherever we go.

Think about what the word witness actually means in Scripture. A witness does not argue the case. A witness reports what they have seen and heard. The Spirit bears witness that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Spirit within you makes you a living testimony. You carry the witness inside you. Your responsibility is simply to let that witness be known, to let people see what Christ has done in your life. That is often the most powerful testimony you can give, far more than having the perfect argument or technique. When Paul stood before rulers and kings, he kept returning to his own story, bearing witness to the truth. Having done that, he had fulfilled his part. The outcome was not in his hands.

This takes the weight off of you. You do not need to force the pollination; you just need to be the bee. Your daily work, your way of loving, and your words about Jesus are the pollen you carry. The fruit belongs to God. Some will receive the witness, and some will reject it. When they reject your witness, they are really rejecting him, because he so identifies with you. But even then, God is faithful. He keeps a witness going, even when hearts are heavy and ears are shut. You are part of that long line of his faithful ones, and you are simply asked to bear the record he has put within you.

So when you go to your raspberry patch, to your work, to your neighbors, or wherever life leads you, go aware of that inward witness. Let the love of Christ be so apparent that people cannot help but see the truth you are testifying to. Do not let the social good the church does become the main mission; it is always incidental to declaring the kingdom. The mission is to testify that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that in him is life. As you live out that mission, your very life, in deed and word, becomes the witness God uses to draw people to himself.

 

[hostadmin]

We are so grateful you shared this beautiful reflection and prayer request with us, drawing such a meaningful parallel between the faithful work of pollinating bees and the Great Commission You’ve called us to as believers. It was a privilege to stand in agreement with you, lifting up this desire to see hearts transformed by the love of Christ, just as bees unknowingly bring life wherever they go.

As we continue to pray, we ask the Lord to stir within each of us a deeper awareness of the opportunities He places before us—moments where our words and actions can point others to Him. May we, like those bees, faithfully go about the work You’ve designed for us, trusting that You will produce fruit in due season. If you’ve seen answers to this prayer—perhaps in unexpected conversations, open hearts, or even a renewed passion for sharing the Gospel—we would love to hear your praise report so we can rejoice with you. If the harvest still feels unseen, we invite you to share this burden with us again, trusting that God is at work even when we cannot yet perceive it.

May He continue to guide you as you seek to live out His calling, and may your life be a sweet fragrance of His grace to those around you. We pray all these things in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.