Lessons In The Birds
I sat on the back porch soaking in the springtime weather. Looking all around, I saw the beauty in new life, new growth, and new energy. There’s nothing quite like a nice warm day after a long winter and some “winter blues.” The shining sun, chirping birds, flowers starting to bloom, and green grass all around was like medicine to my soul. You know that feeling, right? Everybody feels it; everywhere you go you see families outside—parents relaxing on the deck, kids playing in the yard. It’s peaceful.
With the move to our new house this spring I have a new sense of peace. I spend many hours sitting on our back deck with my husband and daughter, just talking to each other, listening to the stillness of the world around us, and watching the birds fly in and out of our yard.
It's the birds that got me. The birds perched on our fence, chasing one another through the air, scavenging our lawn for food. They were beautiful. Every day I started searching for the birds, waiting for them to come by. Blue birds and robins, both living together in harmony, paying no mind to one another.
That’s when the crows moved in. Kicking the other birds out, taking over the fences and the yard. It only took about a week before I wasn’t seeing the other birds around. Where once it was a shared space, it was now only crows. As I watched the crows bully their way into our neighborhood, it struck me. That’s what sin is. Sin is the crows.
One day you’re living a beautiful life, following Christ, knowing what true joy and peace is. You’re the blue birds, the robins, the finches —all living in harmony. Then one day, if you aren’t careful, the worldly desires creep in, like a thief in the night. The desire for wealth, fame, power, attachment to materialistic items, and comparison to others crowds out the beautiful life. You begin to fill your life with constant distraction and always are searching for the next best thing.
You have become the crow. Big and bold, black feathers glistening in the sunlight—beautiful in their own way—but not realizing that the more you invite the crow in the more you’re pushing the others out. You lose the real joy, the real peace of this world.
Living in this world is not easy. We all fight the constant pressure of wanting more. And that’s the thing—God wants us to have more! He has an eternity of more joy, more peace, more happiness to give. What He has to offer this world cannot. The bigger house, the nicer car, more money…sure, all of that is nice, but deep down inside is it truly fulfilling?
God offers a love deeper than anything the world can offer, a peace that surpasses all understanding, forgiveness for the sins we all so often fall into, and so much more. He offers an eternity with Him, where there is love, happiness and beauty far beyond what we could ever imagine down here on Earth.
So sure, have fun in this life—God wants us to! Earn the extra money, buy nice things, go enjoy all the luxuries of this world. But don’t get so caught up in chasing the crow you kick out the blue birds, robins and finches. Instead, be the blue birds, robins and finches—show others the true way of this world. Show them the true beauty of following God and what He has for us.