Why God Made The Birds
By Phil Scovell
This weekend, I wasn't feeling too well physically. It was
sort of like the stomach flue or something. Anyhow, I normally
seem to get discouraged pretty easily whenever I get sick. Some
of it is related to the dozen eye operations I had 40 plus years
ago because I used to wake up sick as a dog and puking my guts up
after every operation. So, there's some healing there that needs
to be done but fortunately, I've already received a great deal of
healing in that area but there is more work to be done.
Anyhow, as the day wore on, I got to feeling better. I had
been thinking about what I was going to teach on this morning,
Sunday, but somehow, and for some reason, I felt my spirit telling
me to switch to another topic and that was about birds. I
remember at the moment I felt the change, I was walking near the
bird cage where Chester, our African Gray Parrot lives, and I
heard him chattering and playing around. Parrots of all kinds
love to play. They, unlike people like me, have no problem
keeping themselves occupied in one way or another. So, as I said,
I was walking by his cage and his chattering made me stop and
think about him and other birds.
When I was a kid, I had a dog named Corky. I've talked
about him before in other articles and testimonies. He was a rat
terrier and I spent a lot of time with him. I used to always say
to him, "Corky, I wish I was a dog." One day my mother heard me
say that and she asked why I was saying it. "Because," I replied,
"dogs never have to go to school." I have a feeling there was a
lot more behind my secret confession but I'll save that for
another time.
I was reminded of this when walking passed Chester and
hearing him playing in his cage. I sort of thought the same thing
as when I was a child about being a dog but this time, instead of
wishing to be a dog, I thought of being a bird in God's animal
kingdom. I heard myself saying in my thoughts, "Lord, why are
birds so happy?" I was thinking, why do birds sing, those that
are song birds I mean, and why do they chatter and play around and
seemed to always be having a good time.
Several years ago, I watched a two hour program on a local
educational channel which was on birds. They claimed that there
were over 600 billion birds on the planet, sounds low to me, and
2800 different species.
Most of us probably never pay a whole lot of attention to
birds but I was thinking, this weekend, what it must be like for
all the birds in the world to awaken each morning and start
singing and chattering to the Lord. Millions of birds, billions,
singing and to whom are they singing? Well, they are for our
enjoyment, that's for sure, but what do you bet that God hears
them, every one, more than we personally bother taking notice.
In the late seventies, we lived in western Colorado. I was
an assistant pastor in a small Baptist church at the time. We
lived in a brand new house and had one child that was a little
less than two years old at the time.
One morning, about 5:30 or 6 o'clock, in April, I put on my
coat, after making some coffee, and carried my cup out on the
patio. the meadowlark has been just about my most favorite song
bird for many years. We lived in a very large valley and at the
edge of town. In fact, over our back fence you were considered
out of the town proper.
that chilly mountain morning, as I stood and prayed, I had to
stop to admire the thousands of meadowlarks I could hear all
across the valley. One came within about 75 feet, or less, of the
patio and perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. He sang so
loudly, in unison with all the others, you almost had to cover
your ears. I tried singling each songbird out so I could count
all those I heard that morning. It was impossible. I've never
heard anything like it before or since.
As I poured out the small amount of coffee I had left in my
cup on the ground and pushed back the patio door, I realized that
those birds new more about praying and praising God than I did.
This weekend, when I asked the Lord why birds were so happy,
He instantly said, "Because they know me." Quickly on the heels
of that knowledge, I realized that birds know him as their Creator
and so they are happy. Additionally, they know Him as their
Provider. You see, I know these things myself, theologically
speaking, but the birds know it from experience. More than
anything in my life, I want to know God as that which He has
created but to do that, you have to experience it. How do you
experience God's nature? I personally believe it is accomplished
through intimate prayer.
Have you ever seen a bird up on a telephone wire muttering to
himself and saying, "What a lousy morning this is. The whole day
will probably be as lousy as yesterday. That's the way life is
for me," you hear him say, "nothing ever goes right for me. I
think," he says a little louder and with a little more
forcefulness, "I'll just cash it all in right here and now. I'm
going to do a swan dive, a perfect header, right off this wire
into the ground. I'll snap my little beak, my neck will break,
and I'll be dead. I'm sick of life."
I hear little sparrows all the time around our house. No,
they aren't very pretty birds and they can't carry a tune in a
basket. All they do is chatter together. I've noticed though,
when I listen closely to their sounds, they seem to be happy. I
bet, I just bet you, that they are chattering about the Lord and
His goodness and that's why they sound happy. Of course, I could
be wrong and they could be belly achers and complainers like we
are but somehow I doubt it.
"Oh," you say, "birds don't have anything to worry about like
me." Oh, really. What about their predators? Cats, squirrels,
high voltage power lines, hunters, kids with bee bee rifles just
itching for a kill, and a whole host of others that would love to
have them for supper?
I've never seen a bird sitting up on my house saying, "I hate
life. Life just isn't worth living. It ain't rained in days.
The worms have gone so deep, I couldn't pull one out of the ground
with a pile driver. My stomach hurts I haven't eaten for so long.
Not only that, every single freaking bird feeder in the
neighborhood has been picked bone dry by them crazy squirrels. I
wonder why God made them dumb things any way. All they do is
steal my food. Oh, my belly hurts. God must not even care about
me. I'm so weak, I can't fly another inch," and with that, his
little legs give out, he rolls down the roof, off the edge, and is
dead before he hits the ground; dead of a broken heart.
Why do you suppose we don't hear birds talking and acting
like that? I'll tell you why.
Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
sparrows.
The word for "value" is a rather unusual word. One meaning
is that of a boat, a ship really, filled with grains, gold and
silver, and many other such goods which will be sold in a land far
away. The returning sailors will be rich men because they will
have sold everything in the ship to those who have no such
provisions. Plus, they will fill the same ship with new things
from the far away land which they will sell when they get home and
make even more money. This describes the Greek meaning of the
word for "value" that Jesus used to describe how much he values
us. In short, the sailors are blessed and experience provision
coming and going. Sound like God to me.
Further more, He makes a comparison. He reminded us that the
Father is aware of ever single sparrow that falls to the ground.
Sparrows, in those days, were worthless and were sold for a tenth
of a penny or a tenth of a day's wages. Oh, so you are thinking
that isn't very much value? Remove all the birds in one second
of time from our planet and see what effect it has on our
ecosystem. In a week, this planet would be in big trouble if god
removed all his precious little birds. Einstein, reported to be
the smartest scientist who ever lived, supposedly said, "Watch the
bees. When they die, we have about four years left." He
apparently knew the value of bees. It isn't much different when
considering the birds. Jesus says, you are worth more to Him than
the sparrows. In fact, he says, He knows exactly the number of
the hairs on your head. Admittedly this is considerably fewer for
some of us but regardless, God not only knows how many we have, He
chooses to keep track of them. Try and figure that one out.
So, why did God make the birds? Because they know Him as
Creator and Provider. I wonder if you do. I know I do
theologically but I don't experientially. I want to experience
the truth that the birds know so I can sing and praise God with
them every morning. I, too, want to be as happy as they are
because they know who they are and they know who their Creator is.
How Big Is God? The Size Of Your Mouth.
WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.com
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