We have been watching a pair of dove build their nest in the palm tree just outside our window. It’s well hidden from view, but we know it’s there. Many times a day the pair come with twigs in their beaks, sit on the palm frond and then disappear toward the trunk of the tree.
Just last week Dave had told our neighbor that he would be cutting some of the dead fronds from trunk and dispose of them for her but now that has to wait. The nest, eggs and bird couple need their home protected.
Yesterday it seemed like every bird in the neighborhood had joined the avian chorus and was providing us with a concert. A concert which would rival Handel’s Messiah. Before daybreak the birds are singing, throughout the day their chorus wafts on the breeze and each evening as the sun starts to set they repeat their melodious refrain.
“ Jesus said to His followers, “Because of this, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you are going to eat. Do not worry about your body, what you are going to wear. 23 Life is worth more than food. The body is worth more than clothes. 24 Look at the birds. They do not plant seeds. They do not gather grain. They have no grain buildings for keeping grain. Yet God feeds them. Are you not worth more than the birds?…Do not give so much thought to what you will eat or drink. Do not be worried about it. 30 For all the nations of the world go after these things. Your Father knows you need these things. 31 Instead, go after the holy nation of God. Then all these other things will be given to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock. Your Father wants to give you the holy nation of God.” Luke 12:22-32 NLV
“Are we not worth more than the birds?” “Do not be afraid, little flock.”
Words to live by! Of course, we are worth more than the birds. But even if we consider ourselves to be as insignificant as one of the feathered chorus, we are admonished to live fear free – we are part of the Father’s flock and He promises to care for us.
All of creation is a living example of how the Father cares for us; the seed in the ground, the birds in the air, the lilies of the field, the oceans with their tides, the changing seasons and even the heavens declare the glory of God.
Often when I stop to think about the way God provides for His creation I remember a little chorus we sang in Sunday School.
“The birds up in the treetops sing their song, The angels chant their chorus all day long. The flowers in the garden blend their hue, So why shouldn’t I, why shouldn’t you Praise Him too?”
It’s a simple theology that requires childlike faith.
Listen for the song of the birds, join their chorus and thank the Father that He provides for us!