Sitting At The Table

Psalm 92:14-15 "They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him."

As you have probably noticed from my photography, I love capturing birds on film. In the hope of enticing many different kinds of birds, my backyard has become somewhat of a maze of feeders. Some are on tall poles, some are hung low to the ground, some are under the limbs of a tree while a few are out in the open. There are also hummingbird feeders as well as tangier feeders. To keep the squirrels from raiding my bird feeders, I even have a squirrel tray which I keep full of peanuts.

This time of year I have more sparrows than anything else. They come to their favorite feeders each day, often bickering over a spot. I have to laugh because each feeder is filled with the same thing and each hole is exactly the same size. Often times while two are quarreling, another will flutter up to take their place, feasting while they are fighting. Their loud noise often causes silly dog to jump up and go investigate, causing a flurry of flapping wings and loud complaints.

I noticed a pattern of behavior after a while that has intrigued me. The more established, wiser birds just keep eating as they know that silly dog is no threat to them. They ignore the squawking and screeching that goes on among the immature birds. They eat their fill, moving aside for tiny, fledgling birds that also have no fear of silly dog.

At church today, I thought of this daily occurrence. As I watched some people strut around in self importance, rushing to make sure that no one sat in “their” spot or pointing out “their” level of importance, it struck me that sometimes people are much like my birds. In fact, it is safe to say, that some people have lost the complete point of the message when they spend so much time worrying over their place at the table.

As I looked around the sanctuary, I noticed the older, more mature faces were fixed upon the sermon, hands lifted high during the singing, following along with the notes of the message. They weren’t looking around to see what everyone else was doing. Eyes weren’t scanning the room to see if anyone was noticing the new dress they had on. Their phone wasn’t in their hand, texting the latest gossip about who they saw in the parking lot.

There are several older people that I love to sit behind. Their spirit and passion for God’s message flows out of their hearts and onto the people around them. You can’t help but smile along with them as they grasp your hand during greeting time, squeezing your fingers and telling you how glad they are to see you. And they mean it. Their clothes are out of style, their hair is a wild shade of wrong color, they sing off key. But wow! Do they love the Lord or what!

Dearest Father in Heaven, we come before you this Sabbath Day in gratitude for all that you have given us this day. For hearts that are filled to overflowing with Your boundless Love. We thank You for letting us see our future if we but just follow the path You have set for us. Let us be mindful that You have called on us to take heed of the knowledge of the older, more mature Christians. Let us learn from them and more importantly, let us respect them. Let us pay attention to the message and the feast that is set before us. It is in the name of our Brother, Christ Jesus that we ask these things, Amen