The white stork is a large bird with long reddish pink legs and feet, a long red beak, and white and black markings on its strong wings. It nests often on roof tops and chimneys, and a pair of storks will return year after year to the same nest.
The stork is a respected and protected bird in many places, especially in Germany and Holland. People like storks because they destroy insects and reptiles, and many believe that they bring good fortune. The faithfulness of a pair of storks is considered a model of married happiness, and their long care of their young and for one another is remarkable.
In the region of Alsace, France, storks are considered a traditional element. They are always a source of curiosity and they have become legendary in some places.
The authorities of a town in this province in France once refused to allow a colporteur to set up his little display of Bibles and Testaments on the square in the center of the town. He had to be content to set it up on a back street where there would be little traffic. But He who puts “the stork in the heaven” at her “appointed times” (Jer. 8:77Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:7)), sent fourteen of these magnificent birds upon the roofs of the houses near the Bible stand.
The news spread quickly, and soon half the inhabitants of the little city, attracted by the exceptional spectacle, were filing by the little stand supplied with the holy books and reading the signs telling of “the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men.”
It was for more than one person the providential opportunity to secure “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15).)
How comforting it is to know that everything is directed from above in such a way that each soul may have the occasion to hear, one day or another, the call of the Saviour. When God puts His Word into the hands of a sincere honest soul, even though ignorant of these things, He will surely complete the work if the Book is read with respect and attention. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:1717So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)).
ML-05/13/1979