High up in the rafters of a farmer’s barn, a family of owls made a nest. Because these birds of prey keep the population of mice and other rodents under control, farmers like to have barn owls nesting in their barns.
Barn owls are nocturnal, which means they do most of their flying and hunting at night. Their soft feathers make it possible for them to fly almost silently through the air. They also have excellent night vision and such a keen sense of hearing that they can locate a tiny mouse in the pitch dark by the pitter-patter of its footsteps. God designed them for a special purpose.
Do you know that God designed you and me for a very special purpose too? When God created mankind, He gave us the wonderful gift of understanding. This gift makes us very special, because it makes it possible for each of us to come to know and love God our Creator. Of all the earthly creatures, only mankind has been blessed with the ability to have a personal relationship with God and talk to Him. Knowing and loving God is the special purpose given to each one of us. It is God’s most important plan for our lives.
Neither parent birds nor baby birds can talk to God about a problem they might have, like you and I can. We can ask Him for help. However, He does watch over all His creatures. “The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:99The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalm 145:9)), and that includes baby birds.
One baby owl in the farmer’s barn was a little too curious about the world beneath him. When he was looking over the edge of the nest, he accidentally fell out. He fluttered his wings on the way down, but his muscles and feathers were not yet strong enough for him to fly. He fell many feet below, landing on a bale of hay. The mother and father owl had no way they could bring their baby owlet back up to the nest once it had fallen out.
The owlet had been safe in the nest, high up in the barn out of reach of cats, raccoons and other small animals, but on the ground he had no protection. If the owlet were discovered, he would quickly become an easy meal. The little owlet squeezed in between the hay bales to hide.
The next day the inside of the barn was a busy place. The farmer had sold a load of hay to a dairy farmer in the state of Washington. A small tractor, called a forklift, was picking up the large bales of hay and stacking them on the flatbed of a large truck. Unknown to the driver of the forklift, he picked up the little barn owl as it hid between two bales of hay. A heavy, waterproof cloth was tied down over the load of hay, and the truck began its long trip to deliver the hay.
After several hours, the truck arrived at the dairy farm. When the hay was being unloaded, the dairy farmer happened to see the owlet’s big eyes looking out from between two bales. He gently picked up the baby owl in his gloved hands, and then he found a box to hold the bird where it would be safe until later when he could help it. After the hay was unloaded and his chores finished, the farmer took the owlet to the Raptor Rescue Center that was nearby. The people at the center had raised many baby hawks, eagles, owls, and other birds of prey. The farmer was leaving the owlet where it would receive good care. Most likely it will grow into a mature owl that can look after itself when released into the wild. Because of the farmer’s care, the beautiful little bird will live out the life God designed it to lead.
Because God gave each of us a will, you and I can make choices. And because sin has entered the human race, we have all made bad choices and wandered away from God. As a result, we are easy prey for Satan, the enemy of our souls. We have chosen to follow the ideas of the world and Satan instead of God’s loving plans found in His Word, the Bible.
That little owlet couldn’t get back to its nest on its own, and neither can we get back to God on our own. Thank God He loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world to bring us back. The Lord Jesus came down from heaven and gave His life on Calvary’s cross so you and I can have our sins forgiven. Only through His death on the cross can those who have wandered into the paths of sin and self-pleasing ever be brought back to God. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9)).
Sadly many who have wandered away from God will never return to him, even though the door of salvation stands open before them. The punishment for never returning to God is for lost souls to be cast into the darkness of hell forever. Will you accept the Lord Jesus as your very own Saviour and have your sins forgiven right now? Then you will know and love God—His special plan for each one of us.
ML-06/02/2013