I am not what many would consider a bird watcher, but I certainly appreciate them. Our backyard is full of our little feathered friends and, on occasion, we have had some fairly unique birds, like red tailed hawks, sitting on our clothesline. I love to hear them sing early in the morning and throughout the day. I think of the words of Matthew 6:26 (NIV), “Look at the birds of the air…” I certainly do that with joy.
I was reading this week about two birds that are on different ends of the spectrum size wise, the vulture and the hummingbird. The writer has this to say: ”Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colourful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do.”
This reminded me of such scripture as Philippians 4:8 (NIV), “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I like the way the NLT puts it, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”.
Paul is not encouraging us to act like another bird, the ostrich, and stick our heads in the sand and never address reality and deal with negative things! He is simply saying, in day-to-day living, let's expend our energy thinking of things that would please God, honour Him and encourage and bless other people. I remember seeing this a while ago, “A great mind is always a generous one.” We need to be “generous” in our thinking. It is a lot more constructive than filling our heads with junk, “what is dead and gone.” Let’s choose “freshness and life.”
I end with this: “Why do hummingbirds hum? Because they don’t know the words.” (LOL). Birds teach us all kinds of interesting things. From hummingbirds to vultures, they all have something to offer. Our little hummingbird friends remind us of Philippians 4:8. Stay positive. Focus on Godly thoughts and what you can do to encourage others. Maintain a Christ like perspective!
God bless – stay safe and stay in the love of Jesus – Pastor Ralph
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