A Little Birdie Told Me

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Does anything look a bit strange in the pictures above?? I apologize for the poor quality of the photos, but I think you can still tell that some unusual interaction is happening between the small indigo bunting and the other, much larger bird. The bigger bird is actually a juvenile brown-headed cowbird, and it is being cared for or fed by the indigo bunting. Wow! Foster parenting in the bird world! The female cowbird lays her eggs in the nests of other birds and then abandons them. Needless to say, she’s not up for “Mom of the Year.” Brown-headed cowbirds are known as brood parasites (you can read more about them here if you scroll down the page a little), so their young are always raised by different species of birds. I’ve witnessed this one other time, when I was lucky enough to spot a chipping sparrow, also a much smaller bird, feeding a juvenile cowbird.

This fostering behavior in the bird world fascinates me! In the human world, I have great respect and admiration for those who choose to foster children and for those who choose to adopt. Lives are enriched, improved, and saved through fostering and adoption. And our heavenly Father has done those things for each of us! He sacrificed his only Son so that we could ALL be adopted, experience the richness of his grace, and receive an inheritance. Read the following verses from Ephesians 1.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

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Did you absorb all of the comfort and hope and strength present in those verses from Ephesians? Read them again if necessary! God “chose us.” He “predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” We have “redemption” and “forgiveness.” “We have obtained an inheritance.” Through the blood of his very own son, God made it possible for every one of us to become his children and become his heirs. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during this Christmas season, isn’t it a wondrous feeling to know that because of his birth and his subsequent death and resurrection, we can be co-heirs with him – of an eternal inheritance?! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (I Peter 1:3-5)

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And why did God choose to send his son to be born into this world and to die for us? If you’ve only learned just one memory verse of scripture, I bet it’s the one that contains the answer to that question. John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God loves us! God has always loved his people, and he has always wanted us to love him. Look what else John has to say about our Savior! “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:9-13) WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD! Because Christ was born. Because he died and was resurrected. Because God loves us! Yes, Jesus IS the reason for the season, because Jesus is the reason for every season. He’s the reason for our hope. He’s the reason we can find joy in trials. He’s the reason we can be called children of God. He’s the reason we can receive the greatest inheritance imaginable.

Ever since I observed the indigo bunting with the juvenile brown-headed cowbird this past summer, I’ve been thinking about writing this particular blog. It’s funny how little things like the birds in our yards can remind us to refocus on the most important things. I needed to be reminded of God’s deep love for me. I needed to be reminded that I am chosen and adopted by him, because, sadly, sometimes I take his love for granted and forget to thank him for his most precious gift! Maybe you needed a reminder too. So why did I decide that now was finally the time to share my thoughts?? I guess you could say “a little birdie told me.”