While on our recent vacation visiting my sister down in Alabama, I noticed a strange sight on her back porch. A wind chime had a bird’s nest built on it. That, in and of itself, is not all that uncommon. I have seen the same sight at my in-laws’ house. What made this unique was that there was snake wrapped around the chime and obviously preparing to attack the nest.
Not wanting to miss this rare scene of natural predation, I went out to investigate. Imagine my surprise to discover that it was a rubber snake that had been wrapped around the wind chime by my sister. And yet, why should that be surprising? No doubt many folks have done something similar in an attempt to keep birds from building their nests in inappropriate places.
What was interesting here is that some brave birds had apparently gone ahead and built their nest in the wind chime even after the snake was placed there. You can see for yourself...
Now, from the perspective of a homeowner like my sister, I certainly would not want to see birds building their nests on my back porch and/or in my decorative items. But from the perspective of the little birds, I have to say “Bravo”!
It is hard to know just why they went ahead and built there. Perhaps they were too dumb to recognize imminent danger. Or perhaps they were smart enough to know the colorful rubber snake was not real. Either way, one thing is certain. Upon encountering the obstacle, irrespective of the risks involved, they went on with their plans… They built their nest. They hatched their brood. They reared their chicks. And they abandoned their nest. In short, they lived their lives out just as they were designed to do in spite of the dangers they faced.
It strikes me that the same can be true for us. All around us there are dangers. Some of these are easily seen; while others are not. Some of these are small; while some of these are great. And one of these is greatest of all. He is the evil one that the Bible (in the second verse of the twentieth chapter of the New Testament Book of Revelation) calls “that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan.” Moreover, the Apostle Peter, in first New Testament letter, tells us that “our enemy the devil prowls around … looking for someone to devour.”
Now, in light of this, we have two choices. We can choose to be paralyzed with fear and give up on living the life God intended us to live. Or we can choose to follow the Biblical admonition of the Apostle James, who tells us (4:7) to: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Just as these little birds boldly called the bluff of what was ultimately a harmless serpent, even so we can have courage in the face of the evil one. How do I know this? Because Jesus Himself, in the Gospel of John (16:33),says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This truth is further affirmed by the Apostle John in his first New Testament Letter (4:4), when he says, “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
And that is later verified by the Apostle John's great vision of the end of times in the twentieth chapter of the New Testament Book of Revelation when the old devil is thrown into a lake of fire where he will be punished and tormented for all eternity!
In closing, I am reminded of the teachings of Jesus in the famed “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (6:26), when He said, “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?”
There on my sister’s back porch sits the evidence that God did indeed take care of a small family of birds. And there, as well, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, sits the reminder that God will also take care of His children!
Not wanting to miss this rare scene of natural predation, I went out to investigate. Imagine my surprise to discover that it was a rubber snake that had been wrapped around the wind chime by my sister. And yet, why should that be surprising? No doubt many folks have done something similar in an attempt to keep birds from building their nests in inappropriate places.
What was interesting here is that some brave birds had apparently gone ahead and built their nest in the wind chime even after the snake was placed there. You can see for yourself...
Now, from the perspective of a homeowner like my sister, I certainly would not want to see birds building their nests on my back porch and/or in my decorative items. But from the perspective of the little birds, I have to say “Bravo”!
It is hard to know just why they went ahead and built there. Perhaps they were too dumb to recognize imminent danger. Or perhaps they were smart enough to know the colorful rubber snake was not real. Either way, one thing is certain. Upon encountering the obstacle, irrespective of the risks involved, they went on with their plans… They built their nest. They hatched their brood. They reared their chicks. And they abandoned their nest. In short, they lived their lives out just as they were designed to do in spite of the dangers they faced.
It strikes me that the same can be true for us. All around us there are dangers. Some of these are easily seen; while others are not. Some of these are small; while some of these are great. And one of these is greatest of all. He is the evil one that the Bible (in the second verse of the twentieth chapter of the New Testament Book of Revelation) calls “that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan.” Moreover, the Apostle Peter, in first New Testament letter, tells us that “our enemy the devil prowls around … looking for someone to devour.”
Now, in light of this, we have two choices. We can choose to be paralyzed with fear and give up on living the life God intended us to live. Or we can choose to follow the Biblical admonition of the Apostle James, who tells us (4:7) to: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Just as these little birds boldly called the bluff of what was ultimately a harmless serpent, even so we can have courage in the face of the evil one. How do I know this? Because Jesus Himself, in the Gospel of John (16:33),says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This truth is further affirmed by the Apostle John in his first New Testament Letter (4:4), when he says, “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
And that is later verified by the Apostle John's great vision of the end of times in the twentieth chapter of the New Testament Book of Revelation when the old devil is thrown into a lake of fire where he will be punished and tormented for all eternity!
In closing, I am reminded of the teachings of Jesus in the famed “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (6:26), when He said, “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?”
There on my sister’s back porch sits the evidence that God did indeed take care of a small family of birds. And there, as well, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, sits the reminder that God will also take care of His children!