Black Birds

Matthew 6:25-
"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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

I have never been much of a bird fan. Some that know me well might find it ironic that I have written this blog as a tribute to them. Yes, I have been abnormally frightened of them, shooed them away, wished they would leave me alone, and have been dive bombed on my head by them too many times. What can I say? I’m just not their biggest fan.

I was leaving work the other day and looked out over the nearby corn field. The black birds were flying in what seemed like a synchronized routine. There were hundreds of them. My first thought was of that terrifying movie about the black birds attacking. About the time the hair on the back of my neck returned to a relaxed state, I was reminded of the scripture above.

The birds…they seemed so happy. How could they be happy? Don’t they know we are in the midst of war, economic fallout, increasing gas prices, increases in costs of food, and incurable diseases? How could they fly about without a care? They dipped down so low and then back up again. The patterns they made were incredible. I stopped, before turning out on the road, and just watched. Amazing.

No, the birds aren’t worried about the economy, the war, the diseases, or even how much gas is selling for at the present time. These birds were just flying and enjoying life. We have a lot to learn from those birds. I looked at them closely wondering how they manage to all stay together and create such peculiar yet magnificent formations in the sky. One bird was leading the group. The rest of the birds followed the lead with a faith that wherever that leading bird led them, it was ok.

Christ came down to our level and as one of us to do just that. He led us and continues to do so today. He came to show us how to live and offered us the most precious gift we will ever be graced with. He also left very clear instructions…do not worry. Right, so we have a lot to learn from those birds.