Cicada Lessons

We are at the tail end (no pun intended) of the cicada invasion. These little buggers depending on where you live in NE Ohio are everywhere. There is a neighborhood by where I work where they are particularly prominent. I learned a whole lot about cicadas reading up on them on websides like cicadamania.com.

 When we look at things in nature like cicadas, we can have one of several reactions. We can say to ourselves, "so what" and just move on with our lives. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we can marvel at these things and think they are the end in and of themselves. Or we can admire and draw from the great Creator God who fashions an unbelievable and complex world. In many cases, cicadas and much of nature serves to remind us of what life is like, especially in perspective to eternity. For example:

1. Cicadas remind us of the cycle of life. Cicadas have a very predictable life cycle much like the seasons that should remind us of life and death as matters of course in this life post the fall.
2. Cicadas remind us of the brevity of life. Cicadas have a short life span and their life span as adults outside the ground is a mere 2-3 weeks.
3. Cicadas remind us of resurrection. They emerge from the ground just as God brings forth life out of the ground as part of the creation of man and the subsequent resurrection of all men whether to destruction or new life (heaven or hell).
4. Cicadas remind us of new birth. Cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs and shed their exoskeleton skin for a new purpose. While unfortunately their life as adults is brief, ours in a resurrected body are created for eternity.
5. Cicadas remind us of courtship (ok maybe this one is a stretch) - Cicadas actually sing to attract their mates. Males sing, females respond, mating begins, and the cycle of life begins again. Somehow the attractiveness of their mates is a natural course of life. I found on the cicadamania site a place where you can listen to all of their singing and noises.

I marvel at what God is doing in creation. I am sorry, but even when I was not a follower of Jesus, I never doubted in an orderly, complex creator. And when you look a little closer, you can experience and see much of what life is about.