Saharan Silver Ant (Cataglyphis bombycina) ~ Surviving Persecution by Reflecting God's Light


In the Sahara, the sun rules all.  No creature can survive its full heat, which averages 104ºF.  Yet the unlikeliest of creatures, an ant, has a trick up its sleeve.  The Saharan Silver ant is the only animal in this ecosystem capable of withstanding the heat of day at high noon.  Their peculiar armor, much like a space suit, is the cause.  These ants are silver-colored, and their dainty panoply of mirrors reflects sunlight.  Thus when their last predators hide away in the ground to hide from the extreme heat, the Saharan Silver ants scurry out to gather their daily food.  Their shimmering bodies have only minutes before the sun burns through them.  They march out quickly, locating food and working together to bring it back to the nest.  After 10 minutes, the last ants are either back in their burrow or crippled by heatstroke.


The Saharan Silver Ant is a remarkable creature.  When I ponder these brave little animals, whose every moment seems to be a struggle, I am reminded of the Christian life.  As believers, we are promised persecution.  2 Timothy 3v12 says  “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  Matthew’s gospel indicates that persecution and proclamation are inseparable.  I find this juxtaposition intriguing from a theological perspective.  Just as the ants survive the crippling heat of their environment by reflecting the light, we as Christians reflect the light of Christ that we may stay the aggressive powers of our world.  In the battering heat of oppression, those marked by light may continue to thrive where all others are forced to hide away.  In the face of persecution, let us ‘consider the ant’!

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