Thump! What was that? I looked out on my back deck just outside my porch that I had built on the deck, and saw a bird that had obviously tried to “pass through” my screens that were installed on three sides. I painted the silver colored metal screen flat red so that not only would the view would be unobstructed, but it would match the redwood stain that was on the rough-sawn timbers that made up the porch structure. It would look better and uniform from the outside.
The problem with the birds seems to be distilled down to the painted screens. The silver wire in the screen as purchased, blocks the human view from inside the deck because of the reflective properties off the shiny surfaces of the screen wire. So, when I paint them flat red, it makes them much more transparent so we can view the vista with more clarity. The issue also becomes that the screens also become more transparent to our feathered friends. They come zipping around the house and “see” through the screens with equal ease. But before they realize it isn’t really an “opening” that they can’t pass through, they plow into the screen wire leaving “beak” signatures, which are holes where the individual wires have been conformed to the geometry of each bird that tries the attempt. The screens are filled with such openings.
I was in the kitchen, and made my way out to the deck to see the bird with its neck broken, lifeless and deformed. It saddens me, but not to the point where I want to repaint my screens. How shallow of me……
If only I could leave my habitat as a human, and transform myself into a bird so I could fly outside and warn them in their own environment to NOT do the things or take the paths that would be so harmful to them! I would speak in bird language, flap my perfectly chiseled wings effortlessly, and meet them before the temptation happens to take the short cuts in life. But I do not have the power to be a bird and fly next to them to save them.
When it comes to the human carnage we witness all around us, we can reason there was little to no communication from those around them to head off problems before they happen. So how can we make this life more purposeful and somewhat less hazardous? How can we avoid making costly mistakes? Outside of genuine Christian persecution, how can all these lives be redirected?
Jesus was in HIS element in heaven before traveling to this earth, and saw the sin problems all around humanity. Repeated warnings from God up to that point had fallen on stubborn, deaf ears with the exception of some cases. Misery prevailed. Wandering in the wilderness, worshiping false gods and idols, and rebelling against a holy God showed how far humanity lost its way.
Jesus Christ comes to earth to take the form of a human to warn people of the wrath to come. He also tells of redemption through His sacrificial blood given to wash away our sins. But He DOES have the power to transform Himself into a human, and live among us for 33 years before going back to His element. All that time, documentation proves his repeated attempts at encouraging people to be born again to escape the penalties which are sure to come to non-believers. He lived with us. He laughed with us. He walked with us. He wept with us. He debated corrupt religious leaders for us. He showed His divine nature for us. He performed miracles for us. But ultimately, he warned us and showed us the positive, purposeful ways to go. He didn’t give us a roadmap, He gave us a compass (Haddon Robinson).
Lord, we ask You to build awarenessin our hearts for those who have no hope. Help us notice the needs of others as they search along life’s paths, so we may be the Christ in their lives that tells them how to avoid the dangers of this sinful world. Illuminate those in our circles or in future circles to turn to Jesus Christ, to keep them from being broken casualties down the road. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”