Feeding The Birds

One of my delights during the long winter months, is feeding the wild birds that frequent my garden. When the ground is hard with frost they especially need an extra boost to get them through the cold nights. The small birds in particular, will likely not survive harsh weather without sustenance. And so, I give them a fighting chance, until the spring comes.

In a way, I’m doing God’s work. The bible says in Psalm 145:16 “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” During these times I can be ‘God’s hand’ to His creatures. Did you ever wonder that with all the millions of birds there are, you rarely see a dead one? Apart from a little pile of feathers in your garden that lets you know a hawk or a cat has caught its prey, where do they all go to die? Well, the answer is simple. They go into a hedgerow and quietly pass away unnoticed by us. 

But not unnoticed by God. Remember what Jesus said? “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.” (Matt.10:29) Then He makes it all the more intriguing when He says in Luke 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?”  Two for a farthing, five for two farthings. God even remembers the one thrown in for free. In both those passages He ends by saying, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value that many sparrows.” 

Isn’t it comforting to know that the God of the universe is interested in the smallest details of our lives. The sparrow that falls, the hairs on your head. It doesn’t get much more detailed than that. When Jesus raised up Jairus’ daughter from the dead, He immediately said to her parents, “Get her something to eat.” She probably hadn’t eaten for days due to her illness. That detail concerned Him. (Mark 5:43)

When Jesus stood in the Court of the Women in the Temple, where the offering receptacles were, watching what people were giving to God’s work, He singled out the widow who gave her very last two mites. (It was equal to the smallest Roman coin of that day) He commended her above the rest because they gave out of their plenty but she out of her poverty. Those two mites, to Him, meant more than all the rest put together. (Mark 12:41-44) Did He not say, “For you belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward?” 

(Mark 9:41) Generally it is the smallest birds who sing the sweetest. An eagle doesn’t sing. An ostrich or a turkey aren’t much good either. But a canary, a wren, or a lark can charm you with their song. Sometimes the sweetest music come from a Christian who seems small in the estimation of others, and themselves. 

Sir Michael Costa, the celebrated conductor, was holding a rehearsal. As the mighty chorus rang out, accompanied by hundreds of instruments, the piccolo player ceased playing, thinking perhaps that his contribution would not be missed amid so much music. Suddenly the great leader stopped and cried out, “Where is the piccolo?” The sound of that one small instrument was necessary to the harmony, and the conductor’s ear had not missed it.”

You may not be 1st violin in the orchestra of life, just a piccolo. But the Great Conductor needs you to play your notes along with the rest.

You may not be an eagle or an albatross, just a canary. But the Great Ornithologist wants you to sing for Him. 

- Pastor David Goudy