Birds of the Air

You may have noticed that the address of this blog is "birdsoftheair.blogspot.com" while the name of the blog is "Winging It." That's because when I started the blog in 2006 I really wanted to write about birds, so I called it "Birds of the Air." But it took a matter of days to realize that it would be an extremely limited and short-lived blog if that was all I did, so I renamed it "Winging It." I have 22 entries labeled "Birds" to date. Why? I like birds. I think they are elegant and interesting, amazing and impressive. From wingtip to wingtip, from beak to tail, from bones to feathers, from California Condor to hummingbird, they are truly astounding. Beyond interesting, birds scream "Creator!" They defy Evolution and demand a Designer with their elegance and complexity. They are living and breathing irreducible complexity. When the Pharisees told Jesus to silence the cheering crowds, Jesus told His detractors, "If these should be silent, the stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40). And, I would add, the birds.

"Birds of the air" was a phrase that Jesus used, too, except Jesus wasn't pointing out how God created it all. He said, "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?" (Matt 6:26). What did Jesus want us to learn from the birds (at that moment)? You are of value to the Father. He said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matt 10:29-30). What did Jesus want them to learn from birds? "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matt 6:34). "Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matt 10:31-33).

We're human. Part of being human is the survival instinct, let alone the "get ahead" drive. So we face fears, real or imagined. We deal with pandemics and cancers, accidents and mayhem, mistakes and attacks, a whole gamut of dangers and crises. And Jesus's words to us are, "Fear not; you are of more value than the birds, and look how well I pay attention to and take care of them." When should we fear? We should be afraid when we deny Him. We ought to be afraid when we tell Him "No" or refuse Him. We need to be afraid when that denial is lifelong and permanent. On the other hand, the remedy for all fear is simply to agree with Him, to acknowledge Him. The word, in fact, is "confess" -- to "say the same word." Agree with Him, and fear not. A message from the birds.