Birds illustrated by John James Audubon (1785 – 1851)
My Darling Child,
There are many ideas and misconceptions about how God views us. Some take a doom and gloom view, and believe God sees us only as sinful filth. Others take an all-accepting and all-loving view and believe everyone – even unrepentant criminals – will go to Heaven. Most such views, however heretical, are rooted in at least a smidgeon of truth. But what’s the whole truth? What does the Bible say? In this series of letters to you, I will search the Scriptures for Bible verses expounding upon how God really sees us in all our weakness, fallibility, and salvation by grace through faith.
You Are A Baby Bird:
“Keep me as the apple of your eye;
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.”
Psalm 17:8
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
Psalm 36:7
“For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
Psalm 63:7
Like a mother bird, God tucks us under His wings. He keeps us warm, feeds us, protects us from the elements, and guards us from predators. Like a baby bird, we are hidden under His wings. Like a songbird, we sing for joy in the salvation He provides.
You Are Vulnerable, Persecuted, & Mortal:
“I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;
I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.”
Psalm 102:6-7
“For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”
Ecclesiastes 9:11-13
“I have been hunted like a bird, by those who were my enemies without cause.”
Lamentations 3:52
God knows that – like a lonely sparrow or a desert owl – we suffer and are vulnerable when we are alone. He knows that we are easily ensnared, both by our own sin and by those who persecute us. He knows we are hunted and oppressed by evil people. He knows that our lives are delicate and brief. God pities us, is concerned about our circumstances, and comprehends our fear and frailty. His sovereign plan takes all this into account.
God Wants To Protect & Shelter You
“On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”
Ezekiel 17:23
“They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion;
when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;
they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.”
Hosea 11:10-11
“He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’”
Matthew 13:31-32
God likens the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus Christ His Son, to a tree – a Tree of Life – that grows strong and mighty to shelter and protect those who take refuge in His branches. Isn’t that beautiful? We – My Darling Child – may take shelter in the grace and love of God, as a little bird takes shelter in the boughs of a mighty mountain-top tree.
You Are Like A Bird, Only Far More Valuable
“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?
Matthew 6:26
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”
Matthew 10:29
“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12:7
Sometimes when a baby bird gets sick, it falls – or is intentionally thrown by its mother – out of the nest. Jesus says that God takes note of each fallen sparrow. He cares about them and provides for them when their earthly mothers don’t or can’t. If God concerns himself with sick and dying baby birds, who’s own mothers don’t even want them around, then surely He concerns himself with every detail of our lives.
In Closing
When we feel lonely, sad, lost, abandoned, cast out, preyed upon, persecuted, or weak, we are welcome to call upon God as Ruth – a lonely gentile widow – called upon Boaz:
“I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
Ruth 3:9
My Darling Child 