like a bird

Over the summer some lovely little Blue Tits have been raising their young in a nest box that we put in our garden. We have had a lot of pleasure watching the parents lay and then hatch the eggs. We have watched as they then spent a very busy few weeks feeding the young birds. These little birds got quite use to us being in the garden and were not afraid to fly to the nest while we were close by watching them. As the young birds got older one day a little bird fell out of the nesting box and being unable to fly, just hopped along the ground. It was quite unafraid as I picked it up and put it back in the nest!It brought to mind the scripture which says:

“O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalm 104:24)

They are indeed ‘His possessions’ and we are privilege to share in them! Creation and the natural order of things can teach many spiritual lessons that can both warn and encourage. For example Solomon writes:

“Like a bird that wanders from its nest is a man who wanders from his place.” (Proverbs 27:8)

The word translated as ‘place’ means in the sense of a man being removed from his home or land, but can also mean wandering from his post or station. Now, if the Truth is the focus of our lives, just as it was for the faithful of old, then our desired home will be the eternal city that is to come. We will wholeheartedly embrace the promises, confessing that we also are strangers and pilgrims on the earth who are seeking a permanent homeland.

Now our ‘place’ or spiritual home lies with the Lord Jesus. If we remain in Him, we have fellowship with those who share the same precious faith. Then, our role or station is fulfilled by working towards the edifying of the body. This then is our place, our home, albeit temporary, a lodging on the way to an eternal abiding place.But, woe betides us if we stray from our place and desert our post within the body. For then like a young bird away from its nest, we are vulnerable and lost.

Sin easily entangles, deceives and leads astray.Yet, to counter the tendency to stray, we have many descriptions of the Kingdom to guide and encourage us. For example, Jesus said:

“To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? “It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; “but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”Mark 4:30-32

Surely, as we labour through the heat of the day as we journey onward, in preaching with little result, in warning and encouraging with little gain, an oasis of shade is so greatly needed.

Yet, if we do truly long for the Kingdom; if our hearts yearn for the promised homeland; if we desire to be with that Divine family drawn from all ages, then our hearts will surely echo these thoughts of David:

“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young––Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.” (Psalm 84:2-4)

What a beautiful, harmonious scene is set before us in this passage. True peace at last! Blessed indeed are those who are privileged to walk through those Holy courts and view this breathtaking scene. Indeed, with spontaneous joy, rapturous songs of praise will spring forth from our lips.

The wonders of creation that we see displayed in nature all around us, speak of God’s love, His mercy and His tender care. Indeed, Jesus exhorted His disciples saying that if God provides even for the smallest bird, how much more will He not supply all that His children need (Matt 10:29-31). We are supremely privileged to be able to see, to enjoy and to learn spiritual lessons from all the beauty of nature around us.May the day soon come when Jesus will return and the Kingdom of God will finally be set up upon the earth.

The kingdom age will usher in a time when all things shall be renewed and man will once again be in harmony with creation. No longer will mankind pollute and destroy the environment, but instead will tend and care for nature, just as God intended from the beginning.

There are some lovely passages in scripture that come to mind when seeing the wonders of nature. They are a reminder of what the earth will be like in the Kingdom age:

“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God” (Isaiah 35:1-2).

and

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)

In the Kingdom age the world will know peace at last and will be filled with righteousness, for as Isaiah continues:

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (v9)

May that day come soon! “Amen, Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Andy Peel