The Rich frog—and his servant Peter the Kawasemi bird; the Strong turtle—and his servant Cara the Shijukara bird; the Wise snake—and his servant Ray the Hakusekirei bird; and the Old carp—and his servant Suzie the Suzume bird; set off for the new park.
Greenery was disappearing at the Iwatsuki Castle Remains Park, but they could move to this new place, they thought, which had much open space, always enough to eat, and no fighting was allowed! Altho’ those chosen for residence were few, the richest, strongest, smartest, and most experienced four animals would surely be welcomed there. But the little bird guides didn’t even talk about such things, only chatted eagerly among themselves about finally meeting the gentle park owner.
When they came to a Park Entrance, a speckled snake lifted the gate entrance for them with his tail. “Yes? Can I help you?” asked the frog gatekeeper. Past the gatehouse could be seen a garden of lush green at the center of which was a clear pond in which was swimming a young carp. But when the optimistic newcomers said they wanted to live at the park, they were told only those on a list posted by the owner could do so. No matter how many times the clerk checked, he found no turtle, frog, snake, or carp.
“I’m really sorry,” said a powerful-looking turtle who came to the guardhouse; “only those who are on the list can go in.”
The four didn’t want to make trouble so decided to go back home and looked around for their bird guides. But they were gone. They had been gone for a while.
The frog cleared his throat. “Your little feathered servants went in right away to see the owner.” He explained. “You see, their names were on his list.”
version 2 (from e-mail to my sister Janice)
Actually, this story was a rebuke. The four big animals are things I usually prize.
Wealth --I think I can stock up on scripture memory, know the Word, have a wealth of knowledge about judges, kings, prophets, Bible geography, customs... Good for me. But diamond croaks and gold-veined lily pads fail to impress the Maker of all Knowledge, Auroras, Galaxies...
Strength -- I think I don't just possess amazing knowledge but can fend off temptation and come out of the fiercest trials victorious, have grown into a pretty strong Christian. Maybe, but one flick of the enemy is still sufficient to trip me up....
Wisdom -- I think even the rich and strong need counsel to be able to really think through things. But even Solomon, the wisest man on earth, ended up with 300 wives and what was it...a thousand concubines? Man's grasp of wisdom goes hand-in-hand with his understanding of the heart's foolishness and bears fruit when truth is obeyed.
Maturity -- I like to think this takes care of all things. Wine gets better as it ages. Experience teaches things youth just does not get, yes? But what if at the end of some things, I find out I was wrong after all? Would I like to be in proud possession of a way of life, worn and tried and sure to fail?
Little birds may not be rich--do not have storehouses for their food so have to go looking for it every day, but their Heavenly Father feeds them. They're not very strong--but their Heavenly Father knows each one of them. They're not known to be brilliant--that is why they've been attached with the insulting expressions: "birdbrain" or “featherbrained”, but not only does their Heavenly Father watch out for them; He has instilled wisdom for "birds of a feather to flock together" and take care of each other! They, of course, do not live very long, but scripture says their Heavenly Father sees when even one sparrow falls to the ground.
They just love the One Who cares for them. God values that way more than if a person is rich in scripture or a strong Christian or wise in life or has walked with Him a long time.
And if you think about it, they're the most free, flying up there in the sky...don't even humans have the expression: "free as a bird"?!
No comments:
Post a Comment