For the second year in a row, we have birds making a home in our cornucopia hanging on our front door. They are apparently convinced our metal-encased plastic flowers are more suitable than real foliage for their nest. They build a nest and lay their eggs, but, sadly, so far none of the eggs have survived to extend a new generation.
I wonder if there’s a spiritual lesson here. Don’t we easily do the same thing? Don’t we treat the temporal world as the real thing, when God’s eternal kingdom is far more real? Don’t we nest ourselves into all kinds of “flowers” that have no real life (but look pretty), and invest our coming generation in these things? Real flowers aren’t always perfect looking, but their beauty comes from real life. Real trees - the natural place for home-building - are full of real life. Don’t we often go for plastic, and the appearance of life?
Well, if so, I am concerned for the results. Our front door - while it may be removed vertically from predators - is no safe place for birds to build. It is a place of transition, and our frequent opening and closing surely makes for scrambled eggs! Likewise, this present world is a place of transition, and not suitable for permanent dwelling. Oddly enough, when we have tried moving the nest to a natural location, the birds have abandoned their young to perish. I wonder if we do that with our Christianity. We go for man-made plastic, but when God moves us toward real life (with real risks but real rewards), we abandon it. And our children’s generation are on short odds for survival.
Well, if you visit our house in the spring, don’t be surprised by the birds flying off the door at you. And if they do, perhaps pause for a moment and consider whether you are building your own nest in a place of plastic, or a place of real life.
No comments:
Post a Comment