Faces on Faith: Walk in the security, confidence of God’s love
A few weeks ago I wrote about robins who decided to build a nest in a flowerpot on our deck. My wife documented each step; the careful building of the nest, the appearance of the first blue egg, then a second, and finally, a third. It was more than two weeks before we noticed the eggs were hatching, and the next day, we had tiny hair-less beings that barely resembled actual birds. We first observed this process on Mother’s Day and a month later, on Father’s Day, we watched each of the three babies fly for the first time. They now were launched into the world.
The robin’s journey reminds us of our own life stages. Recently our 12-year-old granddaughter was leafing through some family pictures. In a methodical way she picked out pictures that told something about our life stages. This led to some storytelling that was for her quite fascinating. Later, I was thinking about how important it is to share our family journeys. This isn’t simply sharing memories; it is celebrating the love that brings us together. All this is to say “thank you” to God who is with us every step of the way.
Psalm 139 is a beautiful affirmation that celebrates the fact that God knows us even before we are born. There is also evidence that Jesus loved and valued children. In response to the disciple’s efforts to turn away children, Jesus said, “let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19: 14). When Jesus was 12 years old he was in the temple talking with the scribes and Pharisees about faith. Luke records this conversation and concludes it by saying “and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and Man” (Luke 2: 52). Finally, there is God’s promise that as we travel the road of faith, God will be with us always to the very end of the age (Matthew 28: 16- 20). The robins can teach us about our life stages; they went about their business; preparing, nurturing, teaching and launching. As we go about our stages of life let us walk in the security and confidence of God’s love for us, and never forget to say “thank you” to the God who is with us every step of the way.
The Rev. Larry L. Marshall is the pastor at the Captiva Chapel by the Sea.