I watched a very messy nuthatch this evening. As day was coming to an early ending there was a host of sparrows and squirrels enjoying a rainstorm of birdseed. I don’t know what kind of seed the nuthatch was looking for but he was whipping his head about in the bird feeder spraying seed everywhere. I don’t know if he ever found anything for himself but he certainly was a source of blessing for the others. I was wishing I could be that much of a blessing to others.
The primary prevailing philosophy in today’s world is existentialism. If you asked a person if he or she was an existentialist they would most likely stare at you wondering what in the world you were talking about. But if you explained what it was and asked them a few questions about life, they would discover that is what they believe. If I may oversimplify, I will just say it is a person on a quest for meaning. There is much more involved but basically people want a reason for being.
If you have Jesus in your life, it is cared for. Jesus has a task for each of us. Our quest is to find it and with God’s help fulfill our commission. In a way that makes each of us a Christian existentialist. However, the person who lives without Jesus is quested to invent meaning or live a life of quiet desperation so well-pictured in Edvard Munch’s picture “The Scream.”
Our task is to be a source of blessing to those about us. To be like Jesus is to touch lives with love and promise for a better tomorrow.
Written by Roger Bothwell on November 3, 2008
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574