I noticed as I was driving into town last week that a pair of geese has taken over an osprey nest atop a power pole next to the highway. We are accustomed to seeing osprey there throughout the spring and summer, but this time the geese got there first. What an odd sight to see a pair of big Canada geese nesting 35-40 feet above the ground! It obviously does provide a convenient, quick, location for their nest without having to go to the work of building their own, and a place of safety from predators on land and in or near water, but I doubt they thought through the consequences in 4-6 weeks when it is time for the goslings to hit the water! That first step out of the nest is going to be a big one! There is a creek nearby, but not close enough to jump into from their nest.
Soon the female goose will lay one egg each day until the full clutch of about 5 eggs is obtained. After they are all laid, she will incubate them, which takes 28-30 days. Whenever she leaves the nest during that time, she will cover the eggs with branches to keep them warm and to protect them. The male normally stays nearby to watch, but not too close as to give away the location of the nest to a predator. I guess in this case the predator will probably be an osprey or golden or bald eagle! The parents (who mate for life) will lead the goslings to the safety of open water within 24 hours of birth. I would love to be there that day to watch those goslings make it to the creek. I hope they have enough “goose down” to bounce when they hit the ground! Amazingly, though they won’t be able to fly for 2-3 months, the goslings will be able to dive and swim 30-40 feet under water when they are just one day old.
I’m afraid we humans are often a lot like these silly geese that have chosen to nest atop a power pole. We find something that is quick and easy and convenient and we make a choice without thinking of the consequences in the future because of that choice. We fail to think it through to a conclusion before we make our choice. Although everyone of us is susceptible to making foolish decisions which we regret later, young people seem to be especially vulnerable. They face tremendous peer pressure to be sexually active and to experiment with drugs and alcohol, not thinking about where that path may lead and how it may affect their future. It is easy to get caught up in the “heat of the moment” and just react to what feels good at the time and make a poor choice that we pay for down the road, maybe for the rest of our lives. The culture we are living in doesn’t help any either, for it is one of “if it feels good, do it.” There is no right and wrong. Truth is what you make it. With that philosophy, we have lost our moral compass. There are no longer any absolute standards in people’s thinking.
The problem with that is that God’s standards have not changed and there is a “law of harvest” which—whether we believe it or not—is in effect: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Just as there are natural laws like gravity which God incorporated into the design of His physical creation, there are also spiritual laws that govern our lives, such as the one given in Gal. 6:7. We may decide that gravity doesn’t exist, but if we jump off a building, we will still fall to the ground below, just as the goslings will when they leave the nest. The unfortunate thing that we face today is that because of our enemy’s efforts to remove God’s Word from society, fewer and fewer people even know—let alone believe and follow—God’s standards for His creation and our lives, and we are facing the consequences of our rebellion and ignorance. We are experiencing the reality of which the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth…For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions…And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do the things which are not proper” (Ro. 1:18-28).
Notice the repeated phrase (underlined): “God gave them over.” What a tragic consequence there is when we ignore God and His Word in our choices. If we know the truth and suppress it or try to eliminate it, that doesn’t change the truth or the consequences of violating it. We will still reap what we sow, and we are seeing that in our culture today. We end up being governed by our old sinful natures and what a mess results. We see it all around us with broken lives, broken homes, and a broken nation. But, it’s easy to point a finger at everyone else for the mess we are in. Individually we too need to make choices based on the principles of God’s Word. So, that means we need to spend time in it so we know what the truth is, and then by faith in our loving Creator-Redeemer, obey. Think through your choices before you make them. Be like Daniel in the Old Testament, who “made up his mind (ahead of time) that he would not defile himself…” (Dan. 1: 8). Don’t be a “silly goose,” dare to be a Daniel!
Forever His
Pastor Dave
Wisdom of The Week 