Once as I wandered in the mountains, I came upon an
outcropping of rocks, and as I sat on the highest rock to rest and look out
over the valley, I saw a nest in the branches of a tree. The young birds in the
nest were crying noisily. Then I saw how the mother bird returned with food for
her young ones. When they heard the sound of her wings and felt her presence
nearby, they cried all the more loudly and opened their beaks wide.
But after the mother
bird fed them and flew away again, they were quiet. Climbing down to look more
closely, I saw that the newly hatched birds had not yet opened their eyes.
Without even being able to see their mother, they opened their beaks and begged
for nourishment whenever she approached.
These tiny birds did not say: “We will not open our beaks until
we can see our mother clearly and also see what kind of food she offers.
Perhaps it is not our mother at all but instead some dangerous enemy. And who
knows if it is proper nourishment or some kind of poison that is being fed to
us?” If they had reasoned thus, they would never have discovered the truth.
Before they were even
strong enough to open their eyes, they would have starved to death. But they
held no such doubts about the presence and love of their mother, and so after a
few days, they opened their eyes and rejoiced to see her with them. Day by day
they grew stronger and developed into the form and likeness of the mother, and
soon they were able to soar up into the freedom of the skies.
We humans often think of ourselves as the greatest living beings,
but do we not have something to learn from these common birds? We often
question the reality and the loving nature of God. But the Master has said:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” John 20:29
Whenever we open our hearts
to God, we receive spiritual nourishment and grow more and more into the
likeness of God until we reach spiritual maturity. And once we open our
spiritual eyes and see God’s presence, we find indescribable and unending
bliss.
