The expression “You get what you pay for” very much applies to wild bird seed. If you buy the cheap (cheep – cheep) seed you will attract just a few species. If you spring for the good seed you get a much larger array of birds at your feeder. My problem is we have a pair of chipmunks who are carrying it away. I wouldn’t mind if they were merely getting breakfast but Chip and Dale are storing up for next winter. Somewhere underground is a treasure of really good seed. I wish they were more like the grasshopper than the ants. These guys arrive with hollow cheeks and leave looking like they have melons in their mouths.
It is difficult to fault them for their instinctive preparation. Preparation is a virtue. Learning to read is a preparation for an informed life. Going to school is a preparation for being able to care for a family. Daily time spent with God’s Word is a preparation for being a great human being. After Jesus’ baptism He went into the wilderness to prepare for the beginning of His public ministry. After Saul was knocked off his horse he spent extensive time preparing to be Paul. Jesus’ parable about the ten virgins was about preparation.
Often we hear preachers advocating that we prepare for the second coming of Jesus. Interestingly the answer isn’t storing boxes of dried fruit, etc. in a bunker. Beneficial preparation is accepting the free gift of eternal life and spending time with Jesus each day. As we do so our characters transform into something so fine we will be like Enoch who walked with God and became so much like Him, God took Him home.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 10, 2013
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org