“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Luke 12:24
Getting home last evening the sun was still up and the weather was beautiful. Doing what I normally do when Katie and I get back together after work, we were telling each other about our day. As I was talking, a bird flew into the garden beside the house. Right in the middle of one of my sentences, Katie immediately turned her head and said.. “Awwww look! A female cardinal!” We both stopped and watched her!
You may have heard about Katie’s garden. She LOVES flowers, shrubs, birds and butterflies. Every morning she sits there for her quiet time, looking out at the scene and listening to her fountain. Now, it was providing another very peaceful moment, stopping both of us in mid conversation! Recalling this Bible verse, my smiling face turned into an inquisitive scowl when I remembered that Jesus said ‘RAVEN’… NOT ‘CARDINAL!’
Cardinals are mostly herbivores – seed eaters. They are clean and very pretty. Ravens, on the other hand, are omnivores, eating both seeds and meat. They are mostly carnivores… scavenging on carrion (dead animals), garbage, rodents and cardinal eggs! My scowl simply reflected a question… why did he say RAVENS and not Cardinals. It appeared to me, based upon what they eat, that ravens are NASTY birds. What was Jesus’ point?
The very next 2 verses that follow Luke 12:24 point out a nasty problem for humans. That of ‘anxiousness’ or ‘WORRY!’ “DO NOT BE ANXIOUS,” Jesus says. As soon as I recognized it, I was forced to admit that, at least in MY life, I am more similar to a raven than the cardinal. And that WORRY and ANXIOUSNESS more adequately represent ‘carrion’ than ‘birdseed!’
Just coming off Easter and remembering the cost and pain it took for God to redeem me from the Lake of Fire, it should automatically register that a small thing like worry should not even be a ‘blip’ on my life monitor. But it does! With Christ’s life flowing through mine, I SHOULD look and act more like a Cardinal than a Raven. But sadly, and far too often…well…you get the picture.
I am not sure that this is the reason Jesus used a dark scavenger bird instead of a pretty songbird for an example of His loving care. It would make sense though! There is NOTHING pretty about my flesh and God has every reason to ‘shoo’ me away from His garden. But this verse reminds me that I have the CHOICE to place my life and trust into HIS sustaining hands. And when I do…. I can truly live a much prettier life… AND with a SONG!
How do YOU look and sound?
