The Wandering Bird (1)

Brian D. Dykstra, teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

Proverbs 27:8: “As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.”

This past summer I was mowing my lawn near a small tree in my front yard. Something unusual caught my eye. There was a baby goldfinch on the ground. He was not yet old enough to fly, and his father and mother were frantically flying from tree to tree. My children and I did the best we could for the little bird. We put him back in his nest, several times. Later we found one of his nest mates on the ground. He was already dead. Also, while working on putting one back in the nest, a third little fellow was stepped on. When putting the last bird back in the nest for the fifth time, a usually sympathetic child of mine muttered, “Stupid birds, they’re just going to have to learn to take care of their own stupid kids.”

Living a life of faith is performing the duties, even the simple duties, which God has given to us. The proverb spoke of a bird which wanders from her nest as being the same as a man who wanders from his place. Such a bird, and such a man, is foolish.

The bird’s place is her nest. Where this nest is depends upon the type of bird. Robins prefer their nests more in the open. I have seen them on the sides of buildings on top of electric meters. Wrens need more seclusion and will build nests in bird houses with very small openings. Oriole nests look like bags suspended from branches. Woodpeckers live in hollowed out tree trunks.

This is the way God has created these birds. They are different and have their own place to fill in creation. Some birds eat seeds. Others eat berries, worms or bugs. Others only eat animals which have died. You can tell about a bird’s habitat and diet by looking at its feet and beak. Whatever its style of nest, wherever its habitat and whatever its diet, each bird has been given its place in creation by God.

A good nest is a place of safety for the bird and her young. There are animals, even other birds, which want to take the eggs from the nest and make a meal of them. Young birds need protection from predators which can even be your neighbour’s cat. Nests are also places of instruction. Eagles are given instruction in their nests. They take small leaps and spread their wings for their first flying lessons. The food brought back to the nest is a lesson on what to eat.

For adult birds the nest is where it is the bird’s duty to be. Her young need her care and protection. It is her duty to attend her nest and feed her young. If she doesn’t do it, who will? It is her duty to give protection to her young. The world is a dangerous place for young birds. You have seen broken egg shells on the ground because some other bird stole them from the nest. Perhaps you have seen young birds lying on the ground dead because they were taken by a predator. The nest is where the bird is supposed to be so her young are protected.

The nest is also the place for the young birds. Young birds sometimes want to leave the nest. As the young grow, the nest becomes more crowded. Maybe they would like some space for themselves. The young always seem to be hungry. They may wander from the nest to try to find food on their own. Perhaps they think they are ready to go out on their own and experience freedom. Many young birds do not survive their first year. They are easy for predators to catch. They may starve because they are not able to find their food as well as they thought they could. The nest is a place of safety.

Just as God decrees that the bird’s place is the nest, He has given each of us our place. Bird nests are found in a variety of places and we have variety in our places as well. Your fathers have different kinds of work which they do. Your mothers’ places are different as well. Some care for older children while others have children who are still very young.

Our places are ordained by God. Just as God equips each bird for its place in creation, He gives us what we need for our places. Your fathers have been given the abilities they need for their work. Remembering that God ordains our places for us can be important. There are times when we are very aware of our limitations and sinful natures. Teachers can wonder whether or not they have the patience and wisdom to make it through another day. Your fathers may struggle dealing with bosses or customers who are troublesome. Mothers can grow weary with the great responsibility of raising children. It is during these difficult times we must remember that God will equip us for the place He gives us.

The lives of your fathers and mothers centre on providing a place for you in the home. Fathers work to care for their wives and children at home. Mothers are concerned with raising their children in the home. Bird nests are to be places of safety and so are your homes. There are spiritual dangers in the world which would do us harm. That is why we do not open our homes to the world’s entertainment. It can ruin the spiritual safety of the home for children to be exposed to the world’s way of life.

Birds are given instruction in the nest. You are given instruction in the home. You don’t learn only about food and safety. You are given spiritual instruction. You learn how God’s Word is our guide in telling us what is right and what is wrong. You learn what your duties are as godly sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and members of the church. You are learning about what your duties are in the home and in the kingdom of Christ.  ... to be continued

Hearing Ears and Seeing Eyes (2)

Brian D. Dykstra, teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them” (Proverbs 20:12).

God’s eyes are sensitive enough to see our needs. I know the needs of some of God’s people and can bring these needs to God in prayer, but I certainly cannot see every spiritual need of even one of you. God sees the condition of our hearts and knows our weaknesses. God’s eyes can see the temptations Satan prepares for us but we often are unaware of them. God sees how to send out His Spirit in order to help all of His people.

God is also able to see everything we do. Students can hide actions from teachers by waiting for them to turn around or go to the other side of the room to help another student. A desktop can also serve as a convenient shield. Our parents cannot see everything we do either. They are not always around when you are playing with your friends. Parents cannot see through walls or the closed door to your rooms. However, none of our actions are hidden from the sight of God. Walls, closed doors and desktops are completely transparent to His eyes. We cannot go anywhere to hide from His sight.

The Creator of the eye can even see things which are spiritual. God can see into our hearts. God can see our desires. He sees whether our hearts desire the things of His kingdom or the things of this earth. Does it give our hearts pleasure to seek to praise God by keeping His commandments? God can see this. Is it the desire of our hearts to please ourselves? God can see this too. God can see the secret desires of our hearts, whether they are good or whether these desires are evil.

This God, Creator of the ear and eye, can hear our cries and see our needs. He can do this as our loving, heavenly Father. This gives us comfort.

However, this God also hears and sees everything as the perfect Judge. We read in II Samuel 11 about David’s great sin. The last sentence of that chapter states, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” How did God even know? We never read in II Samuel 11 that David went to God, told God of his sins and confessed them. Instead, we read of David’s careful plotting to cover his sin by his own clever schemes. Some of the people in the palace might have had an idea of what David had done but David seemed to get away with his sin.

However, we all know that David could never hide his sins from God. This is the God who has made the ear! God heard the sinful desires of David’s heart! God heard David as he made his plans to cover his sin. This is the God who made the eye! All the secret things David had done were all in the open as far as God’s eye was concerned. Nothing which David thought or did was hidden from the ear or eye of God.

God knows our sins too. We often try to hide our sins as David did. Perhaps we think we get away with some of our sins because our parents and teachers cannot hear everything we say. When we have something to say about someone which we know is not nice, we wait until nobody in authority over us is around. Then we can talk and not get in trouble. If we are caught, perhaps a careful denial or lie can cover what we have said. However, not only does God hear what we say, He can even hear what we think. The silent thoughts which we keep in our hearts, sound just as loud to God’s ears as the things we shout to our classmates on the playground.

The same is true of our actions. David tried to hide what he did from the people around him. We try to do the same. When we are about to do something mean to someone, or do something we know is wrong in order to make others laugh or impress others, we don’t do it when our parents or teachers are right there. We wait until nobody in authority is there to see what we do. We often forget that the God who formed the seeing eye is always there and can see everything we do.

God is the maker of the hearing ear and the seeing eye in the spiritual sense as well. By nature, we do not hear the voice of God, nor do we see His truth. In Matthew 13:13-14, Jesus says, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.” God’s voice in His Word and in creation is disregarded. We refuse to hear the call to repent of our sins because we believe we are good enough or certainly not as bad as others. We do not see the seriousness of our sins.

God works in the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit makes our ears to hear and our eyes to see. We hear God’s law in church and realize we have sinned. We hear the preaching of the Word and know we cannot save ourselves or pay for our sins ourselves. God gives us the eyes to see our need for a Savior. We see Christ’s life of suffering and especially what He endured on the cross, as the perfect payment for our sins.

God has made our ears and eyes so we can relate to the physical world. God also has ears and eyes and we know that there is nothing which He cannot hear or see. Yet we are most thankful that He gives us spiritual ears and eyes, so we believe His Truth and know that the way of salvation is the way of sovereign grace in Christ.

Hearing Ears and Seeing Eyes (1)

Brian D. Dykstra, teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them” (Proverbs 20:12).

This verse in Proverbs speaks of two of our five senses: hearing and sight. These are the two senses most closely associated with instruction. Although there are times when students learn by means of the sense of touch, the use of the senses of taste and smell are not commonly used here in school. Most of what we learn enters our minds through our ears and eyes.

The ear has three main parts. There is the outer ear. This is the part of the ear which we can see. It serves as a funnel to catch sound waves. Our outer ears are not very good at catching sounds when compared to the donkey or rabbit. Some animals can even turn their ears to capture sounds better. We cannot do that. That’s why we sometimes cup our hands behind our ears. Just inside our head is the ear canal. Its function is to bring sound vibrations further inside the head. At the end of the ear canal is the eardrum, a delicate membrane which vibrates when struck by sound waves. The ear canal is rather small and the eardrum is very delicate, so it’s not a good idea to put things in it. The inner ear has three of the smallest bones in the body which move in response to the vibrations of the eardrum. These bones pass vibrations to the cochlea. The cochlea is spiral shaped, is filled with fluid, and has small hairs in it. These hairs move as vibrations pass through the liquid. The hairs are attached to nerves which then carry these messages to the brain. The brain processes this information into the sounds which we recognize.

The hearing ear is a wonderful creation of God. We can recognize the voices of our loved ones and have fellowship with them. We hear the songs of birds and waves at the beach. There is the sound of the wind in the trees and soon we will hear the leaves scurrying across the ground. Perhaps in several weeks we will hear the favourite sound of junior high students: the sound of blowing and drifting snow.

God is also the creator of the seeing eye. As we follow a beam of light into the eye, we first come to the cornea. It is a transparent membrane which has a delicate curve. Light then travels through the pupil which is a small opening in the iris, the coloured part of the eye. The pupil can change size. The brighter the light, the smaller the pupil will be. When the light becomes darker, the pupil becomes larger to allow more light to enter the eye. Light then passes through a lens. This lens can change shape depending on whether we are looking at something close or far away. The back of the eye is covered with cells which are sensitive to light. The cells are nerve cells which then send messages to the brain where all this information is processed so we can understand what we see.

With our eyes we can see the wonders which God has made. We can recognize the faces of our loved ones. Imagine the confusion there would be after church if you couldn’t recognize the family vehicle or if everyone looked the same to you! How would you be sure to return to the right family? We see the beautiful autumn trees and clouds in the sky. We see fields ready for harvest and freshly mown lawns. During Thanksgiving, we will see tables filled will delicious things to eat.

Our ears are very sensitive and can hear a wide ranges of sounds. Since God is the creator of our ears, no doubt His ears are much more sensitive than ours. If sounds have a pitch which is either too high or too low, we cannot hear them. Bats can hear sounds which have a much higher pitch than what we can hear. Elephants can hear lower sounds. Robins can hear the sound of worms crawling through the ground. Also, there are sounds which are too faint for us to hear clearly. If sounds are too loud, we can suffer damage to our ears and they might not ever be the same again. God does not have that problem. He can hear sounds of every pitch and all volumes.

Our Father’s ears are sensitive to the sound of our prayers. He heard the prayers offered to Him this morning in school. He hears the prayers of families at dinner tables. God’s ears are so sensitive, He can even hear the prayers which we utter in the silence of our hearts. We don’t have to speak out loud in order for God to hear us.

God also hears all the words we speak. I cannot do that. If too many students are talking at once in the classroom, I cannot pick up all the words in order to understand all the words which are being spoken. That’s why students have to have permission to speak in class. When I am out on the playground during recess, I hear the many voices of happy children but I cannot listen to all of the different conversations at once. God does not have that problem. He hears every word we speak, no matter how many people are speaking at that time.

God’s ears are so good, He can even hear the thoughts of our hearts. What would the people around us think of us if everything we ever thought, we said out loud? There are many things which we think in our hearts which we are glad nobody can hear. If everyone could hear all of our thoughts about them, how many friends would we have? God can hear all of these things. There is no thought which we can keep secret from Him.

It is the same with our eyes. There are wavelengths of light which we cannot see. Doctors do not have X-ray vision in order to determine whether or not we have broken our arm or leg. We cannot see the markings on flowers which bees can. There are things which are too small or too distant for us to see. God does not have this limitation. He can see all things.

... to be continued