This isn't a very good picture, but if you look closely, you can see a bird on the outside of the window. It's a strange bird, for sure.
As I was writing a blog post this morning - about a baby shower - I kept hearing a knocking. I figured someone was outside or maybe picking up pecans - and didn't worry about it. I thought maybe my husband had forgotten to tell me someone was coming. The knocking continued and continued, so I went to see what it was.
This bird - this strange bird - was jumping/flying up and trying to get in that bottom left window pane. It was doing it over and over and over again. I wonder if it saw a bug on the window sill behind the couch or something!? I'm sure that banging its head on the window isn't good and now the banging has slowed down some. I'm pretty sure the bird isn't going to live much longer if this craziness continues. It makes no sense, but it's a bird and it doesn't have a brain that can think logically. It doesn't have common sense. Yet God made this creature, didn't He?
I saved the shower post because of this bird and its banging! I'll finish that post tonight or tomorrow. This bird made me think!
How many times do we act like this bird? Keep doing the same thing over and over and over.....not making any sense and not smart/wise enough to stop!!? How many times do we fail at something and get tired of the hard work, but never stand back and look at the problem - that we keep doing it the same way we've always done it and keep failing?! Just like this bird is getting nowhere by doing the same silly thing over and over, we won't either. We much change our direction! We must change our plan!
If this bird could reason, he/she would realize that there is no way to get through that window pane. It appears that there is, but there's not. There is a huge obstacle in the way, but the bird is blinded to that fact because the pane is "clear". It is clear, but it's also clearly an obstacle!
In the process of trying to get through that obstacle, the bird is missing the important fact that there is a whole world open all around! That bird can go ANYWHERE, yet it is only looking at that one little thing. And that one thing may very well be the end of the bird.
We probably won't lose our life by continuing to do the same thing over and over and over (but of course, we could if it is something addictive), but we very well could damage our life and it will most certainly damage our spiritual life - without exception.
Instead of focusing on one thing and doing it over and over without success, we must be willing to look around at the world God created for us - and the opportunities He has blessed us with. When we don't, we will let that one obstacle consume us and it will beat us down. We can't be God's servant if we are beaten down. We can't be a faithful follower of Jesus if we are only focused on the obstacle.
Let's turn around and look at the bigger picture. There's a whole world of opportunity out there - just waiting for us to turn around and look! We must stop banging on the window pane!
Now I'd better go check on the bird. I don't hear any more knocking. Hmmmm........I hope it turned around and saw the big world of possibilities.
Great article! I relate this to evangelism. How many times do we try to win the same person to Christ and this same person keeps rejecting us? Instead of spending 10 years on the same person, there are many others that are like the Macedonians, "Come over here and save us."
ReplyDeleteSo sad isn't it?
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