For a decade I have been feeding birds at a local pond as a hobby. Many birds congregate in colonies, and I am bonded with one of the local colonies. Whenever they see my Honda Accord, they flock to me. As I feed them, some keep a safe distance, remaining in the water as I toss a piece of bread to them. Other, braver birds catch the bread while hovering in the air. The biggest, most courageous bird comes and takes the bread directly from my hand. The birds that take the greater risk get more bread to eat than the more timid birds. I have never found a bird that died of hunger. I feel great joy while feeding the birds and they give me the assurance of provision. At one time I lost a pulpit which was partly the means of provision for my wife and I. At this dark time, I was assured of divine provision by the birds. As I fed them, I remembered a song we used to sing in Sunday school: “O God, who feeds the birds, feeds me as well. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, He is the spiritual food.” When I thought of that song, I was imbued with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit whispered the words of God promising increase of faith and hope. The words: “cast all you cares upon Him, for he cares for you” has been a sweet melody to me throughout my life, reassuring me that God will always provide for me and my family, just as he takes care of the birds..
However, apart from the assurance of provision, I have not received anything tangible from feeding the birds. Until the day I fed the birds as I usually do but I did not to go home empty handed. There was an egg for me and I took it with gratitude. Two days later, I found a much larger egg. After I picked up the egg, I tried to feed them but, to my astonishment, they refused to eat. They seemed to be saying, “This time we are going to give without receiving anything from you.” I left them with gratitude and went to feed another colony. The following week, I found more eggs but on that day the birds did come to eat the bread.
I believe that these phenomena have many messages for us. The eggs represent the very essence of the birds. By giving the eggs, the birds were giving of their very selves. Three represents completion in the mental plane, the physical plane and the spiritual realm. There are also three important things which we have to offer for building up of the Kingdom of God: Time, Talent, and Treasure. There is also a message about divine transformation. Remember, at first Peter maintained that he was called to minister to the Jews. God had to use the power of three to transform Peter. First, he denied Jesus three times. After the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon Son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” In three cases Jesus told him to feed his sheep. Divine transformation leads to doing things for others. We find ourselves asking the question of Rabbi Helil:
If I am only for my self,
t What am I?
and, If not now, when?
Peter still thought that he was only to feed the Jewish flock. God, had to use still another power of three to get Peter to see his mission. This time the vision came when he was hungry. He saw something like a large sheet of paper with three categories of creatures : four footed animals, reptiles, and the birds of the air. He was commanded to do three things: Get up, kill, and eat. He resisted action with the excuse: “Surely no, Lord. I have never eaten anything impure or unclean”. A voice replied, “do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” A few minutes later, three men were knocking at the door. They were all Gentiles and Peter knew he had to let them in. These three men led Simon Peter with another group of six (it is now a group of three times three) who visited the home of a Gentile man named Cornelius. There he preached the Good News to the people of another race. Among other things Peter proclaimed; “I now realized how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear God and do what is right.” “While Peter was still speaking this word the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” When you are transformed by the power of three-which also symbolizes the Holy Trinity- you become the agent of transformation. The vision of three invites us to do three things. Get up. Do something bout it. Act. And, kill your petty prejudice and negative thinking. Get out of the tribal box or race box and extend your ego boundaries. If you kill your prejudice, I AM THAT I AM will give you victory over the nations. You will attain an “I-Thou” relationship with all nations. All people will be your brothers and sisters. Like Peter, you will learn that God does not show favoritism. If you live in the Western Hemisphere, you will learn that you can draw value from the Eastern Hemisphere. If you are in “the third world”, like the birds in the pond, you will discover that you too has something to give. If it seems to you that you are only a taker, you will learn that you indeed have eggs to bring. It has been said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and giving is indeed blessed. But, it is also blessed to allow someone to give to you, so they can feel the joy of giving. Actually, we all have received all good things from God, and the givers in this world are only witnesses of God’s loving bounty. We all must learn the joy of being a willing vessel of the Lord. You will indeed get up and reach out the people on your neighborhood with the Gospel. You will support your local church with your tithe and offering. You will offer to God your time and talent. Consequently God will fill you with peace, love and joy. And at the end of time you will rejoice to hear the Master say: “well done a good and faithful servant. You were faithful in little thing’s, now enter the joy of your Master which was prepared for you before the foundation of the world.”
Copyright: Dr. John G Githiga
www.allnationachristianchurchinternational.org
www.ancciuniversity.org
