Lewis says two remarkable things today. First, he talks about creation praising God. And that made me think... you see the little bird in the pic above, singing his heart out. (I apologize to you ornithologists if that's a female bird.) Is he praising God? Lewis says he is, and I heartily agree with him.
But let's examine what that means, before we move to the other interesting thing Lewis says. What does it mean that that little bird is praising God? Does the bird REALIZE he's praising God? Maybe. We don't know. The consciousness of animals and plants is a mystery to us... and necessarily so. Even if a bird were to hop up to you and say "I am self aware", we still wouldn't know if it were true. (That's actually a great example, come to think of it. Because a parrot could do JUST THAT, and I'm pretty sure that would not indicate the bird's sentience.) However, the bird is praising God, just like the Grand Canyon praises God, and the roar of the ocean praises God, and the beauty of the Milky Way praises God. Because God made these things, and their wonder praises Him, whether they realize it or not. (I'm PRETTY sure the Grand Canyon isn't aware that it's praising God.)
The second thing that Lewis says is that if we have strength, it is God's strength. If we have joy, or beauty, or love, or goodness, we have God's. Because there is no other. God IS goodness and beauty and love and strength. As he quotes Macdonald as saying... He can give us no other, because there IS no other.
What does that mean for us? Well, many things. But one thing it means is that God is already at work in the life of every person on this planet. It would be impossible to find anyone living in the world who does not have strength, love, beauty, joy, or kindness in their life. They may not have all of them. They may not have much. But everyone has something. And that is from God.
So when we share the goodness in OUR lives that God has given us, we're RELATING it to the good that is in their life, already. No one has a corner on God. This is good news, when you're sharing your faith. It means you're not starting from scratch. You're just fanning a flame.
God, thanks for the little birds who praise Your name.
1 comment:
As I have struggled this past year, I was drawn to Gods creation of birds. Mine were ducks and they have given me so much peace, joy, laughter (at their behaviors), and awe at Gods plan for their lives and how amazing His creation truly is. Thank you God for these times and all I have witnessed
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