Bird Blog

Jesus declared that every human being, being made in God’s likeness, is far more valuable to Him than any other part of creation

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This last weekend in January is the ‘Big Garden Birdwatch’ organised by the RSPB. My wife is the one who will keep an eye on the garden for an hour to do a spot of ‘birding’. It’s always a delight on a dry bright morning to see a few of our garden birds. They flit in and out. Maybe they take a few steps along the top of the fence or to hop around the branches on the bare apple tree. I often find myself singing (humming) ‘All things bright and beautiful’, as I glimpse their antics. For those readers who are not familiar with that wonderful hymn written for children, here is the first verse:

Each little flower that opens, 
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours, 
He made their tiny wings.

Many of our garden birds do not stay still for more than a second or so, we might call them busy-bees. Do they have a to-do list tucked under their wing, or a nest planner pinned up somewhere? We do see some remarkable photography and research about them on our media, revealing new secrets about their lifecycle or distinctive features.

Jesus used the example of birds when teaching his disciples about the cares and worries of life. Here is Matthew 6:25-26 

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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

In the UK, the months of January, February and even March can be lean for many of our native birds. Conservation groups and government policy have encouraged the public, farmers and land-owners to help our birds through this hungry gap. But prolonged blizzard conditions are still a challenge to the bird population which relies on daily provision. You may have seen the black and white documentary about the 1963 great freeze which decimated bird populations by an estimated 50%. We have to recognise that there are difficulties in sustaining the many beautiful and varied bird populations, but the words of Jesus remind us that ‘our heavenly Father feeds them’. And here I want us to recall our collective original raison d’etre as we read in Genesis 1:26 
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

God repeats his mandate as a blessing over Adam. Here is the Message translation (paraphrase) of Genesis 1:26-28 

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”

God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

Let us take time to reflect on this responsibility for our Father’s creation. I need to change the way I think about ‘all things bright and beautiful’. But finally, I want to return to those words of Jesus.  

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

Jesus declared that every human being, being made in God’s likeness, is far more valuable to Him than any other part of creation. Think about your neighbours, the homeless, the rich, the starving, each one bearing God’s image. What value do we put on them?

Author: Richard Windridge

May God bless and enrich your life

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