Missional Principles from a Squirrel

Three surprising lessons about the Great Commission from one of God's smallest creatures

There he goes again! Another squirrel racing across my backyard, an acorn clenched tightly in his mouth. He stops, digs furiously, buries his treasure, and scampers away in search of another. Watching his relentless activity, I began to wonder: Does this little creature understand something about urgency that the church has forgotten?

Squirrels are fascinating creatures, although they can be rather aggravating, especially when they help themselves to the produce in our gardens! Yet these small, industrious animals have something to teach us about the Kingdom of God and our responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission.

As autumn settles into our community and temperatures begin to drop, squirrels become increasingly busy. They do not know when the first snowfall will arrive or how severe the winter will be. Yet their Creator has equipped them with the instincts to prepare for the changing season.

One fascinating behavior of squirrels is called scatter hoarding. Rather than storing all their food in one location, squirrels bury nuts and seeds in numerous places, creating reserves they can retrieve when food becomes scarce. As I reflected on this remarkable behavior, my thoughts turned to Scripture and the urgent task of world evangelism. Just as squirrels prepare for the coming winter, believers are called to recognize the spiritual season in which we live and faithfully labor in the harvest fields of the world.

Consider three important missional principles we can learn from these remarkable little creatures.

Missional Principle #1: Recognize the Season We Are In

The squirrel instinctively recognizes the changing season. It does not wait until winter arrives to begin preparing. The shortening days and changing conditions signal that it is time to gather. Likewise, believers must exercise spiritual discernment to recognize the season in which we live.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that God would pour out His Spirit in the last days (Acts 2:16–21). With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the church entered a new era of prophetic witness, empowered to proclaim the gospel to the nations. Throughout the centuries, and particularly through the expansion of the modern missionary movement, we have witnessed the Spirit of God raising up laborers to carry the message of Christ to peoples who have never heard. We are part of that continuing mission!

Jesus made this responsibility unmistakably clear when He commissioned His disciples:

"As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."

— John 20:21

When Jesus spoke these words, His disciples were gathered behind locked doors. He appeared among them, offered His peace, showed them His hands and side, and commissioned them to continue His mission. He then breathed on them and spoke of receiving the Holy Spirit. The mission of Jesus was now entrusted to His followers. They were not being sent in their own strength but under His authority and with the empowerment of His Spirit. The same calling rests upon the church today.

Consider the contrast: The squirrel prepares for a winter it cannot predict. Christians labor for a harvest Christ has promised.

The squirrel does not need a calendar to tell him that winter is approaching. His Creator has equipped him to respond to the changing season. Yet we who possess the Scriptures, the Great Commission, and the indwelling Holy Spirit sometimes live as though the harvest can wait indefinitely. How remarkable that a small creature can demonstrate such urgency while those entrusted with an eternal message can become so easily distracted!

Jesus reinforced our calling in the Great Commission:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

— Matthew 28:19–20

The command is clear, the authority is Christ's, and the promise of His presence is certain. We must recognize the season in which we live. The fields are ready, and the harvest is before us!

Missional Principle #2: Gather While There Is Still Time

Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the squirrel is its urgency. It does not wait until the trees are bare and the ground is covered with snow before searching for food. It gathers while the opportunity remains. There is a season for gathering, and that season will not last forever. What a powerful picture of our responsibility to reach the lost!

Scripture reminds us of the wisdom of preparing while there is opportunity:

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they

prepare their meat in the summer."

— Proverbs 30:25

Although Solomon speaks of ants rather than squirrels, the principle is remarkably similar. Wisdom recognizes the season and acts accordingly. Jesus emphasized this same urgency when He told His disciples:

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?

behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields;

for they are white already to harvest."

— John 4:35

Jesus was challenging His disciples to see what He saw: people ready to receive the message of salvation. How easily we can become distracted by the routines and demands of everyday life while overlooking the spiritual harvest before us!

Across the world, billions of people live in communities where access to the gospel remains limited. Entire people groups lack a vibrant Christian witness. Many have never had the opportunity to hear a clear presentation of who Jesus is and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection. The need is immense, and the responsibility is urgent.

Jesus also warned that history is moving toward a divinely appointed conclusion.

In His parable of the wheat and the tares, He declared:

"The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."

— Matthew 13:39

Here, the harvest represents the final judgment at the end of the age. It reminds us that history is not endless and that our present opportunities to proclaim Christ will not continue indefinitely. Jesus further admonished His followers:

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day

nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

— Matthew 25:13

We do not know when Christ will return. Nor do we know how long any individual will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. But we do know what our Lord has commanded us to do. We must not postpone until tomorrow what God has called us to do today.

The squirrel does not spend autumn debating whether winter will eventually arrive. It simply goes about the task for which it was created. How much more should we, who have received the Great Commission and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, faithfully labor while opportunities remain?

Missional Principle #3: Scatter the Seed Far and Wide

One of the most intriguing things about squirrels is that they do not store all their food in one place. Through scatter hoarding, they distribute nuts and seeds across numerous locations. Interestingly, some of those buried seeds are never recovered. Under the right conditions, they may eventually germinate and grow into new trees. What a remarkable picture of the spreading of the gospel!

Jesus never intended for the message of salvation to remain confined within the walls of our churches or the boundaries of our communities. His command was to make disciples of all nations. The squirrel scatters to preserve its own life. We scatter the seed of the gospel so that others may discover eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Jesus described the Kingdom of God through the imagery of a farmer scattering seed:

"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed

should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how."

— Mark 4:26–27

The farmer scatters the seed, but its growth is beyond his ability to control. The same is true in missions. Some seeds are planted through faithful prayer. Others are sown through sacrificial giving. Still others are scattered through the witness of missionaries who cross cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers to proclaim Christ.

We may not always see the results of our labor. Some seeds may appear to lie dormant for years. Yet God is able to bring life and fruitfulness in ways we cannot anticipate. Through Isaiah, the Lord declares that His Word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish the purpose for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:10–11).

What encouragement for those who labor among unreached peoples! A missionary may spend years sowing the gospel with little visible response. A believer may faithfully intercede for a Muslim community without immediately seeing spiritual breakthroughs. A church may invest sacrificially in reaching an unreached people group without knowing the full impact of its generosity. But the seed is being scattered, and God is at work.

Our responsibility is to sow faithfully. The harvest belongs to the Lord.

What Are We Doing with the Season God Has Given Us?

The next time you see a squirrel scurrying across your yard, carrying an acorn or burying its treasure, consider the spiritual lesson hidden in its activity. That little creature recognizes its season, responds with urgency, and faithfully prepares for what lies ahead. Should we do any less?

The church has been entrusted with a far greater treasure than nuts stored away for winter. We have been entrusted with the life-giving message of Jesus Christ—a message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal hope. Unlike the squirrel, which gathers food for itself, we are called to carry this treasure to others.

Perhaps we should each ask ourselves:

• Am I recognizing the spiritual opportunities God has placed before me?

• Am I praying faithfully for those who have never heard the gospel?

• Am I investing my resources in taking Christ's message to unreached peoples?

• Am I willing to go wherever God calls me, whether across the street or across the world?

The fields of the world are before us. Countless people still wait for someone to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit continues to call and empower believers to participate in God's global mission. The question is not whether God has given His church a mission. He has. The question is whether we will respond with the urgency and obedience that mission deserves.

The next time you see a squirrel gathering nuts for winter, remember this: the season for gathering will not last forever. The same is true of our opportunities to make Christ known.

The squirrel gathers for a winter it cannot see. We labor for an eternity we know is coming.

Let us recognize the season, embrace the urgency, and scatter the gospel far and wide.

The harvest will not wait forever!