God's Birds

The February 2009 issue of the National Geographic reports that Zoologist Kristofer Helgen oversees the world's largest collection of mammals at the Smithsonian Institution Nation Museum of Natural History. His ongoing discoveries of new species help shape conservation efforts worldwide.

While Helgen's endeavors concentrate on "mammals," this blurb inspire me to reflect on God's marvelous world of birds surrounding all of us. Evelyn and I have travelled widely--in Singapore, Thailand, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, all over South America, Hawaii, all over Europe, Russia, New Zealand, and the list goes on and on. Everywhere we have seen, we are blessed with birds of all type. The National Geographic keeps presenting pictures and explanations of birds. For example, in the February 2009 issue, on p. 63, there is a photograph of a beautful adult finch with red beak. The shape and colors are amazing. Ornithologists continue to discover new kinds of birds all around the world. They find new species which human beings had not documented previously. God has populated birds on earth generously and diverse.

As I look outside my office window, every day I see a wide variety of birds. My wife and I keep nine grain feeders, three hummingbird feeders, and a large bird bath supplied every day. What a blessing to watch God's birds. Here are some that we see daily, and sometimes annually as they migrate.

barn swallows loggerhead shrikes woodpeckers
blue jays killdeer redtailed hawks
quail at least three different types of doves
whistling ducks brownthrashers finches [red, olive, golden]
hummingbirds meadowlarks grackles
egrets redwing blackbirds yellowheaded blackbirds
sparrows kestrels wild turkeys
guineas turkey vultures geese
mockingbirds roadrunners

I know I have overlooked some. We are surrounded by a veritable aviary. The Bible often speaks of various kinds of birds. One example occurs in Psalm 84:3:

"Even the SPARROW finds a home,
and the SWALLOW a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God."

Jesus used the example of birds to emphasize the value of each individual on earth. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26).

Thank God for birds. What birds surround you? Do you appreciate the shape, the color, the value of the birds around you? God cares for each one. And God cares for YOU.

John Willis