Being a Bird Feeder For God

One of my favorite things to do is feed the birds and then sit in my kitchen and watch them as they fly in and out taking advantage of the various seeds at our feeders. Lately whenever I go out to refill the feeders, I am reminded of the words of Jesus spoken to us in Matthew 6:25-26:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Jesus gave us these words so that we would understand that as His children, God provides everything we need. Not only does God take of His children and the animals of the world, He even takes care of those who reject and scorn Him. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus tells us that God "gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."

But the beauty of how God operates, is through His people. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

It is important to understand that even as Jesus was telling us we need not be anxious for anything in this life, He was also commanding us to go into the world and be the means by which He would provide for both the just and the unjust. Listen to Jesus on this.

Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The truth is that the evidence of our salvation is found in how we love others. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 25:34-40

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

God’s people are God’s hands and feet. We are the means He uses to provide for those in need. Sometimes this means we give a sandwich to a homeless man in the streets. Sometimes it means we simply take time to say a kind and encouraging word to a stranger who we observe sitting alone in a hospital waiting room. Sometimes it means we pray for the needs we read about on our Facebook page. Sometimes it means we buy some birdseed at Rural King and put up a bird feeder in our backyard.

Open your Bible on a regular basis to Luke 10:27 and read how Jesus answers the lawyer’s question. “Sir, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” No, Jesus isn’t suggesting salvation is by works, Jesus is explaining how the one who receives Him by faith will be forever changed in how he views others.

May mercy, grace, and above all else, love, become the characteristics that define us.