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About Jesus Steve Sweetman The
Food Of Falcons Sammy
had never experienced fear, anguish, hatred, anger, sickness, or death,
but in the span of one split second, that all changed. Clouded
in confusion, he shakes his head to clear his mind.
But it's not in his mind. It's
all around him. He's in the
midst of it. "He
did it", shouts Saralie the sparrow, Sammy's sister.
Scared
out of his beak, Sammy asks. "Who
did what"? "Adam
did it. He ate the whole
thing. We're doomed
Sammy", cries Saralie in horrified anguish.
"You're
kidding? The guy is nuts.
We're gonna die". Saralie
sobs bitterly. "But
Sammy, it's already happened. In
one sudden second, part of us just died.
I feel completely different.
Don't you?" Sammy
screams. "Watch out Saralie! Watch
out"! Sickening
terror strikes Sammy. With
pains of panic, he vomits up his lunch.
Tears gush from his eyes. Fred
the falcon just swept down, snatched up Saralie, and in two quick gulps,
swallowed her alive. Uncontrollable
anger explodes from deep within. "W…why
did you kill her? Sammy was
dumbfounded. He had never
heard the word kill before, and now he had just spoken it in a fit of
rage. What's gotten into
us"? "It's
death", snickers the snake. "Saralie
just became the food of falcons, and guess what Sammy.
You're next on the menu".
The
scene shifts to a provincial park. My
wife Dianne and I saw a flock of these little birds swarming around a
tree. We stopped to
investigate. Dianne reached
out her hand, and amazingly, one after another, cute little birds landed
in her hand in the hopes of finding food.
I took a picture and then stretched out my hand.
It was an incredible moment.
These so-called wild little guys were nibbling away on a few
crumbs in my hand.
Dianne
likes photographing birds, so she placed some bird feeders in our
backyard. Birds of all kinds
now grace us with their presence and with their songs.
And yes, they do visit the hood of our van after their lunch.
You can view some of Dianne's photos on her blog at;
http://diannesphotographsandthoughts.blogspot.ca/ Our
new found friends flutter from feeding stations, to tree branches, and
to the bird bath. It's an
enjoyable sight, that is, until the neighbourhood bully circles
overhead. Like a jet fighter
patrolling the sky, a falcon is in search of lunch.
I find it quite disheartening to think that one bird would devour
another bird for lunch. Cynical
Sid, a distant descendent of Sammy the sparrow, overhears Jesus one day
saying, "… do not worry about your life … look at the birds of
the air … your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they"? (Matthew 6:25-26)
Sid twitches his head in
disgust. He mutters. "Jesus
isn't telling the whole story.
He fails to mention that the same birds whom the heavenly
Father feeds becomes food for falcons.
Don't those disciples get that"? Sid's
mother interrupts. "Jesus
is trying to encourage His disciples, who like us Sid, maneuver their
way through a world of uncertainty.
Remember? After God
created everything, including us, He gave Adam the pleasure of caring
for us". (Genesis 1:28 and 2:20)
Sid
sighs. "Yes mother.
You've told me the story countless times before".
Sid knew Adam forfeited his job as keeper of the kingdom, and
what God said would happen, did happen.
Death invaded every cell and every molecule that forms life as we
know it. In one micro
moment, all creation plunged into a life of death.
As beautiful as creation is, it's a dim shadow of what it once
was. Sid
also knew that death cane into the world because Adam submitted to
satan, a known murderer. (John 8:44) God
then cursed His creation. (Genesis 3) If
satan was going to be prince of the planet, then this planet would no
longer be a place for such a prince.
Creation would now wait for a better day to come. (Romans 8:19)
Sid
now overhears Jesus again saying, "… are not two sparrows sold
for a penny? Yet not one of
them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father … so
don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows". (Matthew
10:29-31) As
Sid eyes the sky for falcons, he mutters.
"Come on Jesus. How
can the death of a sparrow be God's will? And, don't the disciples
realize Jesus isn't just talking about our death, but their death
too"?
Sid's
mother interjects again. "Sid,
Jesus is comparing His disciples to us.
We fall to the ground and die, and so will they.
We become food for falcons. They'll
become lunch for lions in Roman arenas. As
our untimely death is 'not apart from the will of God', neither is their
untimely death. Their
heavenly Father will be with them in death as He is with them in
life". "Here
are the hard facts Sid. Adam
quit on us. Satan became
prince of this planet. Death
entered creation that God then cursed.
Sparrows became food for falcons and disciples became lunch for
lions". "How
delightful", answers Sid with a hint of cynicism. "There's
more Sid. The death of man
or animal is not apart from God's will. It's
not the end of the matter. Death
can't separate any of us from God. (Romans 8:38) That's
encouraging. If God is with
a sparrow in death, that means He is actively involved in every last
little detail of His creation. That
makes me of great value to God".
"But
I thought Jesus said that man is more valuable than us sparrows",
replies Sid. "Sid,
disciples are more valuable, but more value doesn't mean we're unvalued.
If God values us, then those disciples have nothing to worry
about". "That
sounds a bit better", replies Sid, "but I'm still not excited
about this death stuff".
"There's
more Sid. Life leads to
death, but for us and believers, death leads to abundant life. (John
10:10) Many Christians who sit under this shade tree think they'll spend
eternity in heaven, but they won't. We'll all co-exist in harmony, both
man and animal, on a newly created earth. (Revelation 21-22)
Lions will like lambs. Sparrows will fly freely without fear of
falcons". (Isaiah 11:6, 65:25)
As
I sit on my deck and listen to the song birds, I'm reminded of my
friend, Joe from
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