The next Nursery Rhyme on the blog is actually more of a well-known kid’s song- The Ants Go Marching. What’s interesting about ants is that they are small, and alone they seem weak. But they don’t live alone. They live in colonies…with thousands of other ants. In that colony each ant has a job to do that keeps the collective group strong. There are solider ants, worker ants, and one queen ant. The queen ant is the only one allowed to lay eggs. The entire colony works together to build up the young and keep their community strong.  

A community. Collective Group. Works together. Not alone. Build each other up. Hmmm… this sounds a lot like the church to me. Alone we are weak. But with Christ we are strong. However, Christ also gave us the Church. The community of believers, the collective group, who together make each other stronger. Each of us has a job to do to help the church flourish!

“And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works  of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.…(Ephesians 4:11-13).”

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two,
The little one stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four,
The little one stops to shut the door
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five,
The little one stops to take a dive
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching six by six,
The little one stops to pick up sticks
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching seven by seven,
The little one stops to pray to heaven
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching eight by eight,
The little one stops to shut the gate
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching nine by nine,
The little one stops to check the time
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching ten by ten,
The little one stops to say “THE END”
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The little one may have stopped… ten times… but he was never left alone. The ants continued to march and the ALL go marching down to the ground… To get out of the rain..

To escape the rain, they go to the ground… their home… where their community resides. Think about that for a second in the context of the church.

Where do you run when you have rain… storms… troubles?

What community do you want surrounding you when times are rough?

 Is the church that community for you? Are you that community for your fellow sisters (or brothers) in Christ?

There are many reasons a little one may stop, but when the community is supporting him, he will probably follow and be led to home.