Another week, another Sunday, another spiritual message in nature; although this week's symbolic occurance is, perhaps, not as tasteful as last week's forest fable.
I was seated, innocently upon a garden bench, soaking up the sun and admiring the fauna and flora. Then, to my left, there was a rustle in the bushes. Turning, I saw a young pigeon crouching furtively amongst the Holyhoks. I looked at it, it looked at me, we both looked at each other. This pigeon was fearless, not at all abashed by my presence. I soon realised why. The creature was in some poor state of repair. Its feathers were sticking in any which way and were rough and coarse, leaves and other assorted foliage covered its back and chest. It appeared dazed and, aware how foolish this sounds, it seemed to be limping.
At first a stab of pity hit me. Rapidly this feeling fled, as the poor creature hobbled straight towards me with a determind gaze. As the pigeon closed the distance between us to but a couple of meters, I saw the flies crawling over its body and eyes. The poor young pigeon changed instantly to a fearsome repulsive creature, a hollow croak, for it can only be described as a croak, left its scratched beak and fell on my ears. My nose scrumpled up almost into my eyebrows, and I withdrew toward the protection of the house. As I moved away from the dead-but-alive-pigeon I remembered the bird-poo-smeared windowscreen that had awaited me previous mornings when I had gotten into my car. Very little pity indeed now remained for the creature that was slowly making their way across the lawn towards me. Death, illness and repulsive pigeons can all be dealt with at a distance, but when all three are steadily limping straight towards you (and you are wearing only flip flops on your bare feet) little pity of thoughts of mercy are flowing in your mind. I hastened indoors, and left the said pigeon to continue his trek toward the flower bed.
Now I wouldnt bring up such an unappealing topic, but for the sudden rush of symbolism that I was hit by when I had re-entered the sanctuary of the house. Two bible verses in particulary jumped to the front of my mind. The first is Isaiah 1 vs 5b-6:
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
Or as the King James Version puts it:
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores.
Do you perhaps now see how the analogy of a disgusting, sick pigeon, reeking of death, and crawling with flies actually describes us? When God looks down upon sinful men and women he sees their sin. And this isnt the "sin" of fiction, where the devil is red and has a pointed tale. This isnt the sin Christians can piously talk about in others. No, this is the stagnant, repulsive, sickening, putrifying sin that is in each one of us. Sin is a cancer, and rapidly spreads across the entire being, notice what God says through Isaiah- "The whole head is sick.....From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it"- A small amount of petrol in a diesel engine brings the entire vehicle to a rapid halt. A small amount of leaven leavens the lump.
This is alarming, when God looks at me he sees me as I am: much, much, much more repulsive and undesirable than that sorry pigeon. And God has every right to do what I did to the pigeon: abandon me and leave me in my sickness. This pigeon may have survived without my assistance, and might go on to live a long and fulfilling life (relitively speaking), but imagine what will happen if the very "Author of Life", my creator and sustainer, abandons me? Take it one step further; God is Holy and pure, he cannot stand any impurity or sinfulness in his presence (and his presence spans all of His creation). What then is to happen to me?
Well here is the good news, the second verse which I recalled earlier on, and this is good news indeed:
...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
How vast is Gods love?! How amazing is our King? He looked upon my putrifying sores, he looked on my transgression against himself... and loved me. Christ died for me. Christ died so that I may go free. Christ died so that death itself may be defeated. And He did this while I was still a sinner, while I rebelled and swore against him. Isnt this just unimaginable? While we hated and detested God, while we refused his help and wallowed in our own sickly lusts and putrifying pleasures, He died for us, to redeem us!
Well can I say with Paul:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and blameless before him.
Shortly after meeting the pigoen I went to the evening church service. Roger preached on John 13, when Jesus said that believers must love one another, "as I love you." That really sets the gauntlet down! How great is Christ's love, how all encompasing is Christ's love, and I must love as he does?! Roger reminded us how we often look at other Christians and think, "I would love him/her if only they were a bit more loveable. If only they werent so__________ (insert issue here). If only they didnt _________ (insert problem here)."
That certainly isnt the love Jesus showed to us! If that was the case then we are all hopeless cases! We must love one another as Christ has loved us, however hard that may be. And when we fail at loving one another, might we praise God that he continues to love us!
One hymn puts it like this:
Here is love, vast as the ocean
Loving kindness as the flood
When the prince of life our ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember
Who can cease to sing His praise
He can never be forgotten
Throughout heaven’s eternal days
How marvelous that God reminds us of his grace and his character through nature! Although we should hardly be suprised when this happens, it is His creation after all! Psalm 148 says:
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
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