At times you can hear them before you see them, flying in the large V pattern, maybe one kilometer high, heading south, of course. The honking geese signal the transition between summer and fall and as much as we don’t like this “signal,” it is still beautiful to hear and see.
Just how did they come up with this idea of the V formation? The Creator planted in their brains a way to do less work. After all, flying the V is like walking through the snow with your parents when you were a kid. By following in their footprints, it makes it much easier to walk.
This V, along with a favorable wind, enables geese to fly more than 1000 km in one day. Where do they get that stamina? Many people wouldn’t even want to drive that far in one day even on a major highway. And as you know, some highways resemble the “parking lot” formation at certain hours.
It is more amazing that first-year birds can find their winter home despite never having seen it before. And then they return the following spring to where they were born. Even with a GPS we sometimes don’t do that well. We marvel at the wisdom of our Creator.
Do the geese use the sun, the stars, the earth’s magnetic field or previously seen landmarks? We don’t really know. A recent idea suggests their retinas, the photosensitive nerve layer deep in the eye, acts as a chemical compass that interacts with the magnetic field. It’s merely an educated guess. I have worked in the vision care field for forty years and I think we know about one percent of how the eye works. My guess is that we have a bit more to learn.
These migratory birds make me think of the prophet Isaiah’s words (chapter 1) when he says that animals know where and when to go home — unlike many lost and lonely people who stray blindly through bumpy, back roads. He records, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider” (Isaiah 1:33The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. (Isaiah 1:3)).
And yet the Lord has given us a navigational tool to help us. He did not create the world and then step away to let it falter on its own. He gave us the Bible, with a clear message about how to have a relationship with God and how to experience the forgiveness of all our sins.
The Apostle Matthew records the words of Jesus: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
Now that is the way home. Jesus invites us to Himself. Bring your weariness and your burden of sin and guilt to Him. He is able to give you rest because when Jesus was on the cross, “the Lord ... laid on Him the iniquity [sin and guilt] of us all.”
Look it up for yourself in God’s GPS, the Bible. It’s in Isaiah 53, verse 6. And there is more there to read. It could help you find your way “home.”