A big gust of wind swept through the town of Skokie, Illinois. It bent the branches of the fall colored trees and snapped flags back and forth on their poles.
At a block party neighbors were enjoying an outdoor meal together. The wind tipped over cola drinks, swept plastic silverware off tables and made the neighbors hold onto their hats. But worst of all, it toppled over a large, wire birdcage holding two rare and expensive Amazon parrots. An elderly couple had brought the birds to the outdoor party.
The cage hit the ground with a clang, and the gate was jarred open. The two parrots, named Coco and Lucy, saw a chance to escape. With a couple of flaps of their wings they flew to the branches of a nearby tree.
Coco and Lucy were Amazon yellow-headed parrots. They had bright yellow heads, emerald green bodies and flaming red wings—beautiful birds! They were large too, about the size of a crow. Amazon parrots are well-known for their intelligence and talking ability.
Aurelio and Ester Moreno walked to the trunk of the tree and pleaded with the birds. With their sweetest voices they coaxed, “Coco, come down to your cage. Lucy, here is a nut just for you ... if you want it, come and get it.”
The birds ignored the couple’s pleadings. They tried talking to the birds in Spanish, which they often spoke around the house. “Ven aquí, mis pájaros,” they said. The birds still ignored them. They were finding their newfound freedom to their liking and didn't want to return to the cage. Aurelio and Ester stayed by the tree after everyone else went home. They stayed until nightfall, when they finally gave up hope and went home.
Coco and Lucy “flew the coop” and left their owners. You might say each one of us has “flown the coop” and left our owner too. Who is our owner? “Behold, all souls are Mine,” God says in Ezekiel18:4. We belong to Him because He made us. But you and I want to make our own decisions and have left God out of our lives. Isaiah 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) reads, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” We have all turned away from God our Maker.
The next morning the Morenos returned to the tree to look for their pet birds, but they were gone. The Morenos placed ads in the local newspaper, describing their special parrots and asking if anyone saw them to please call.
Three days later and several miles away, a man heard some loud squawking and went outside to investigate. He spotted the parrots in the trees. They were making so much noise he said they sounded like “little joyous children.” The man telephoned the Morenos and told them the location of the birds. Aurelio quickly drove over to try to coax the parrots to come to him.
When the parrots recognized him, they seemed to get excited and squawked even louder. Then the squawking stopped and one of the parrots said in Spanish, “Aurelio, Aurelio, hola, te amo!” In English this means, “Aurelio, Aurelio, hello, I love you.” Then the two parrots flew off and disappeared from sight.
Aurelio was upset about the loss of his parrots. People reported seeing the parrots flying with some crows, but Aurelio was never again close enough to call out to his pets.
Trouble was certainly ahead for the birds. Winter was just a few months away, and these were tropical birds. Could they survive on their own? Maybe, because they are really smart. They might find warm places to sleep and learn what to eat by watching other birds, but more than likely they would perish in the cold winter ahead.
Like the parrots, sinners who will never admit they are sinners and come to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness will end up perishing too. Ahead of them at the end of this very short life is the outer darkness of hell.
The Morenos could only plead with the birds to return to them. They could not force the parrots to return, and God will not force you and me to return to Him either. He has made known His love, offering a free salvation and pleading with us to return, but He will not force us to accept His loving offer of sins forgiven.
Will you return to the God who loves you by trusting in His Son? He wants to give you the gift of eternal life and true freedom from the guilt and power of sin.
If you ever travel through Skokie, keep your eyes and ears open. You just might see some bright green parrots flying through the trees and maybe hear the loud, happy squawking sounds they make. I do hope these special birds learned somehow to live through the winter. More than that, I hope you take the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and know that you will have a happy home in heaven.
ML-10/05/2008