Giving Sacrificially

   A little mother blackbird was nice enough to build her nest in a hanging basket on the back patio, affording us a great view of her activities. After the industrious bird had brought in long grasses and pine needles along with other types of fibrous material and had woven them together into a strong nest, she laid her tiny eggs.  

   Then it took about two weeks of patient “nest-sitting” before the eggs hatched. It was difficult to see the new babies because they were tucked way down in the pointed leaves of a Wandering Jew plant. Finally with the help of binoculars, we identified four tiny heads covered with white down. The baby birds were well camouflaged among the tapered purple leaves of the plant which stuck up out of the pot and hung down over its sides.

   Once they hatched, both parents began a frenzied schedule of feeding, taking turns almost nonstop from morning to night. At first it looked like they were carrying bunches of grass to the nest; however the ‘grass’ turned out to be insects which happen to be  abundant and are easy to find.

   Before long we could see the babies’ open beaks and hear their tiny chirping sounds. The more aggressive members of the family stuck their heads up a little higher, opened their mouths wider and chirped louder in order to get the attention of whichever bird happened to fly in with the food. As they grew bigger, the nest became crowded and some of the siblings stood on top of the others in order to get fed first!

   What about the baby bird who was at the bottom of the pile? Several times we observed one of the parents poking its head way down to the bottom of the nest, with tail feathers sticking up in the air. Perhaps it was making sure that everyone received enough food. What sacrificial giving and care by those parents! Al and I were impressed!

   When our youngest grandson was first learning how to play soccer about a year ago, all of the kids would run up and down the soccer field chasing after the ball. At four years old, Elliot didn’t have much of an idea how the game worked; but he knew that it was important to kick a goal and that possession of the ball was needed to do it. So he would run up and down the field alongside the other kids yelling, “ME, ME!” With practice and experience, Elliot now has a better understanding of what it means to be part of a team.

   In a sense, the baby blackbirds were chirping “ME!” in order to survive. Later, when they are grown up, they will also sacrifice for their own young, whether learned or purely instinctual. We humans also have a natural tendency to put ourselves first. It is a struggle  for most of us to choose self-denial and sacrifice for the benefit of others. When we do learn to make such choices daily, we are following Jesus’ example of selflessness…Jesus, who loved us so much that He gave up His life in order that we might have eternal life through faith in Him.

  

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’ ” Matthew 16:24-26 NIV