Thought for the Week: Daily diligence with God should be the order of the day

​I’m easily distracted these days. Just beside my desk there is a television monitor, where all the time I can see exactly what is happening inside a bird box in our garden where I have installed a camera.
By ​Rev Dr Norman Hamilton
Published 21st May 2023, 12:52 BST
​Rev Dr Norman Hamilton​Rev Dr Norman Hamilton
​Rev Dr Norman Hamilton

​A pair of great tits has taken up residence there, and in the next few days seven chicks will hatch (hopefully!), and over the next few weeks I will be able to watch the constant activity as parents seek to feed their helpless and ever hungry offspring.

They are ‘only’ ordinary garden birds, but the diligence and care they are investing in their nest and hatching their eggs is simply stunning. And every day I am being visibly reminded of Psalm 84 where we are told of the welcome of God in His house for ‘ordinary’ birds – the sparrow and the swallow, in particular.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I am finding that what I am seeing on the television monitor and reading in Psalm 84 is deeply challenging me about how I relate to others – especially those who are different from me in a variety of ways. Since God welcomes the sparrow into His house, who do I welcome into mine?

Jesus made a point of welcoming many people whom others did not want to associate with. For example, Zacchaeus – the hated tax collector (Luke 19); and the woman caught in adultery (St John 8).

The actions and attitudes of Jesus also raise the question of whether everyone is actually welcome at the door of our church. Can it be said that the diligence and care we invest in nurturing new followers of Christ is simply stunning?

Jesus explicitly said: how much more valuable you are than birds. God has ordered nature in a very special way so that there will be enough food for both parents in my bird box and their seven chicks. But it has to be searched for each and every day – it doesn’t just appear.

Growing in Christ is not automatic – daily diligence is to be the order of the day. That is both a challenge in itself and a delight.

​

Related topics:Jesus