Jesus the Bird Watcher

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than them? Matt 6:25

Ok, I admit it, I am a bird- watcher. But not the stereo- typical birdwatcher that Wally Cox played in the Beverly Hillbillies, P. Caspar Biddle, the head of the Beverly Hills Birdwatching Society. Still, Ellie May, that critter lovin’ beauty, did fall for him because of his love for the feathered creatures; she dropped Dash Riprock like the sorry has-been actor he was for a nerdy guy in kakhi shorts. Hurrah for everyman. (Interesting, in this picture I ran across, Donna Douglas references Prov. 3:5-6.)

I’ll give you one better, and this one will make it difficult for you to scoff. Jesus was a birdwatcher. Notice what he said above. Sounds like he gave us a directive, the sentence starts as an imperative statement, "Look the birds of the air.."

So, I have simply taken His words at face value, figuring there must be a lesson or two in there somewhere. I can't tell you how many times I will stop dead in my tracks, even for a lowly sparrow simply to observe his habits. Each species has its own ways, and I love to confirm something I have read about a certain bird. Ok, before you tune me out, this is not going to be a lesson in Ornithology, still...

We have so many species down on the farm. I have seen owls with wing spans so massive and so silent that I have been awestruck. Then there are the chickadees and wrens, tiny birds some with mighty lungs that flit about so quickly, you want to tell them to sit on a branch and rest, for goodness sake. My parents have placed bluebird boxes all over the landscape, and my little "Auburn" birds are everywhere.

Our city is full of American Robins right now. Many folks think of this bird as the gateway to Spring, actually, it sojourns the winters here in our warm climate. My dog Belle and I play a harmless game with Mr. Robin on our runs, as it takes little to entertain me when it comes to things in God’s creation. Being worm hunters, they are constantly hopping along the sidewalks in close proximity, and many give us such a look of disgust as we have interrupted their snack time. I grant Belle a little leash and tell her to "get 'em!" She and the bird race down the sidewalk until the robin decides to take flight, quickly landing on a nearby branch and then gives us it's distintive "cheerio", probably the bronx cheer in bird lingo.

Is there a point to all of this? Not sure really, as I don't even know if this is going to make sense to anyone but me. You know, we are called into personal relationship with God. I sometimes think we feel it all has to be initiated from our end. We do all these things (pray, read our bible,etc) that somehow makes us feel worthy that relationship. But He is God...

Remember when I said I will stop in my tracks and observe even the lowly sparrow? Does the sparrow even have a clue that this person, created in the image of God, has stopped everything to watch the tiny bird? Doesn't he just go on about his business? If he could "think" on my level, what would go through his mind knowing that this common of all creatures caused a human to give pause to his uniqueness?

Could this also translate into our personal relationship with God? Maybe He loves us so much that He 'stops in His tracks' when he observes us fliting and flurrying about our day. I am amazed at the pure poetry of 2Chron.16:9: For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. In the magnitude of His love for us, that personal relationship is so much stronger on His end than on ours! Our love for Him cannot even compare to the love of a Father who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all (Rom.8:32). Jesus finishes His thought on birds by asking the rhetorical question: Are you not worth more than them?

I remember picking up one of my diminutive ruby throated friends after the poor hummer flew head long into the glass of our french door. I cradled him, fearing that it had killed him, however, I noticed life quivering in his tiny body. I stroked him gently, and as the minutes passed, I could tell that he was shaking off the blow. In short order, his instinct kicked in and he zipped out of my cupped hands like a bottle rocket. I envision our personal relationship with God is analogous to this. Always picking us up, dusting us off, and many times, we recover and flit away. Yet, it thrilled me that the little bird lived and was able to fly off.

Many of you may question my conclusions here...aren't we called to worship Him, serve Him exalt His name, you ask? Believe me, it is so clear to me how thankful I am for the gift of grace He has bestowed on me! And for the times I fall into habitual sin, failure, selfishness, I have this glimpse of Him stroking my wounded soul, always restoring to those of us who call out in need, allowing us to fly with wings as eagles.
Mark

Prov 17:22