The past 12 years my wife and I have lived adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s one of the most beautiful natural places on earth. This park possesses an incredible variety of flora and fauna–far more species than the entire continent of Europe.
Yesterday we took a 6-1/2 hour birding hike led by an ornithologist in Cades Cove, a popular section formerly occupied by Appalachian people over a century ago. It’s a place of picture postcards and jigsaw puzzles. About 40 species of birds live in this cove year-round. Another 100 species migrate through there. If you know anything about birding, you’ll immediately recognize that this is an incredible number. During this outing we heard and observed 38 different bird species–not too shabby!
One aspect really stood out to me. Anywhere we stopped in the cove to find birds, their food (seeds, insects, etc.) existed in incredible abundance. They simply had to gather it. We didn’t observe any emaciated birds.
This experience reminded me of what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Today’s bird-watching certainly provided a clear illustration of what Jesus said.
The Bible is an ancient book, but it has incredible application for us today. When you read the stories it contains, especially the teachings of Jesus, try to apply them to your everyday life experiences. It will cause a connection.