“Look at the birds of the air” (Matt. 6:26)
Hello Saints,
I like to spend a lot of time outdoors especially walking, biking or fishing. I love looking at God’s creation for He designed it to reveal Himself – His glory, majesty, attributes and character (Romans 1:20). From the intricacies of the spider’s web to the organization of a colony of ants, to the majestic soaring of an eagle, to the beauty of the rose, all is intended to demonstrate the heart and mind of God. If we just took a little time to slow down and observe creation before us and let it speak, we would discover a brilliant Creator, full of detail and order, complexity and comedy. Those I know who garden do so in awe of how God displays His creative glory in the plants they tend. The ancient Job wrote, "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:7-10). All of creation is on display to reveal God and cause us to praise Him.
Jesus often used natural illustrations to teach important truths. “Look at the birds of the air”; “Consider the lilies of the field” are commands from the Savior for His disciples to observe, reflect, ponder and conclude a spiritual truth – in this case that God is a loving sustainer, provider, and caregiver to all of His creation, and how much more so to His prized creation – us humans.Yesterday while driving home from church I had a revelation from creation that I would like to share concerning geese. Now geese around this neck of the woods are a nuisance – they run the place. They can bring an 80,000-pound semi-truck to a complete halt by standing in the middle of the road, to let their little ones cross. There are thousands of them…everywhere! I may have mentioned this before in another blog. They can be quite aggressive when you approach them, and quite messy when you are looking for a poop-free place to have a picnic. But yet, there is so much to learn from them if we just “look at the birds of the air”.
For instance, a male and female goose will stay together till death do them part, up to a 25-year life expectancy. Flying in a V-formation as we often see, multiple geese group together to reduce wind drag as they migrate, taking turns leading the flock, so that each has the energy to make the thousands of miles journey to their destination. They are faithful partners, and great parents, aggressively defending and caring for their offspring. But yesterday, while making the half-hour drive I regularly make to church, passing the large pond in the front of a large country home I pass all the time, something different caught my eye. This pond is not huge, but near the road for all to see. There are always a lot of birds in and around it, mainly domestic geese (the white ones), farm ducks and once and while wild Canada geese. When the pond shrinks in the heat of the summer, it is overcrowded with water-fowl – quite a picture of species trying to survive the drought, like you would see in National Geographic films with all the African animals gathering around the ever-shrinking watering hole. I was struck as I drove by the pond this time, by the wild geese and the domestic geese integrated in the leading of the little goslings. It appeared to me that these different family units were actually working together to gather the little ones into an extended family – caring for each other’s “children”. Because of the color differences (white and brown), it was obvious that these two similar species were sharing the load, working together to corral the troops out of the water. Was I imagining this? Why did God want me to notice this – to “consider the birds of the pond”? I immediately sensed that this was a picture of the church of Jesus Christ.
When I got home, I did what one does nowadays…I googled what I saw, and sure enough, it is a real thing for domestic geese and wild geese to share the parenting load, and integrate themselves into these communal settings, including each other into the family unit. I thought of Ephesians 2 where God brings Jew and Gentile into His family, uniting them together in Christ, having to work out their differences and “get along”. I thought of how the local church is a coming together of different people from totally different backgrounds and experiences, forming a family of believers, focused on a singular cause of making disciples of Jesus, which involves teaching each other’s children, living life together and building a community of love and service, where all the “one anothers” of scripture can be lived out. I could get really spiritual and point out that it is the ‘water of life’, or ‘living water’, that unites the geese together and us together – that’s where thirsty people and animals hang out…but I’ll spare you the obvious metaphor. Church is where I have “a brother from another mother” and a “sister from a different mister” – where two of the same species but different families, come together to form a new family. Isn’t it incredible the way God works! When we are truly united together by our common Brother and common Father, we don’t see each other’s differences - one brown, one white; one who grew up on the property, and one who showed up uninvited, we are just miraculously all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). Is that God’s definition of acceptance and inclusivity? It’s not our sin and rebellion that unites us, it’s our Father through His Son, Jesus! Let’s stay close to the Source of living water where true community happens, serving one another in love.
Blessings!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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