”Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.“
Colossians 3:2 ESV
On late spring day, a little bird went about building her nest in a pile of brush. She worked hard, flying back and forth, to and fro, here and there and everywhere, collecting twigs, leaves, and grass to build her nest. But when she came back, a man watching her had destroyed her nest and with it, all of her hard work. Seeing all of her hard work destroyed must have broken her little heart but she was determined to build her nest.
She started again early the next morning and repeated the process. Hour after hour she flew back and forth, to and fro, here and there and everywhere, collecting twigs, leaves, and grass to build her nest. But once again the man saw her nest and removed it from the brush pile. It was hard to take. Time was running out and she had eggs to lay. Not wanting to see all of her hard work destroyed again, she found a new location for her nest high up on a tree branch.
Once again, she worked hard, flying back and forth, to and fro, here and there and everywhere, collecting twigs leaves, and grass to build her nest. Bu this time, from her new location perched high atop a cherry tree, she watched as a bulldozer pushed the old brush pile into a pit and another man began soaking the brush pile in diesel fuel before lighting it on fire. From here she could see the if the man had allowed her to finish building her nest in that old brush pile, both her and her eggs would have been destroyed by the consuming fire. She previously had no way of knowing what his plans were for that brush pile. But he did. Every time he destroyed her nest, it was to protect her and her baby birds so she would build elsewhere.
When your faith has been fixed squarely on Christ and his plans for your life, the bad things that happen in your life begin to take on new meaning. You begin to see the good that God has for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purposes. Keep your eyes set on Christ.
This slightly modified story was originally told by Bro Sam Shepperson.
