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There
is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1 Cor 15:44)
I
suppose it is easier for man to understand those things he can both see and
feel than those things which are revealed only by faith and theory. In fact, faith
may begin by the evidence of God’s hand in
nature itself and the creative genius evident in that creation. This would be
consistent with the theories propagated by Thomas Aquinas in his writings on
‘Natural Theology.’ Our Lord Himself taught from the standpoint of physical evidence in nature
that points to a higher understanding of things spiritual. That is precisely
the point of His use of parables and material objects to point to a higher
spiritual truth that is not readily evident to those whose existence has been
confined to the material considerations of life. The sacrificial death of our
Lord and Savior, as well as the spiritual death of His disciples, may become
more clearly defined in the mind of a farmer when he is made aware of the words
of Jesus concerning the “corn of wheat:” Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if
it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose
it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. (John 12:24-26)
Or,
it may be presumed that a lady of the hearth will more readily grasp the
spiritual truth of the Providence and Foreordaining will of God in selecting
men, women, and children of every social and political strata for His Kingdom
when she reads how our Lord makes comparison of those items of common household
application: Nevertheless the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.
And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in
a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. (2
Tim 2:19-20) Most of the
Parables of our Lord centered on the plain and mundane materials and
circumstances of daily life. The first cardinal rule of teaching is to “teach
from the KNOWN to the UNKNOWN” – not the
other way around; and our Lord was the Master Teacher. The Prodigal Son, the
Sower and Seed, the Dragnet,
the Mustard Seed, etc. stand as witnesses at the bar to support this argument.
So, I believe that we should be able to
see and witness the glory of God in the natural world as well as in the
spiritual truths revealed in Holy Scripture. The glorious beauty of a morning
sunrise, the contentedness of a bluebird on her nest, the way of the eagle in
searching out his prey from great distances, and the loveliness of a child’s smile – all point to our Creator and His
love for His Creation. I, therefore,
believe I am on solid ground in pointing out some qualities (not all) of the
heron in reflecting the ways of the true Christian, and contrariwise, the RED
HERRING as an example, not to be followed, of many of our modern clergy who
lead men and women astray from the truths of God. The true Word of God will
offend the sinner, not make him feel satisfied with himself! This may conflict
with the effeminate teachings of the false prophet, Joel Osteen, but so be it!
There is a beautiful city park within a
five-minute drive of my home where my wife and I go morning and evening with a
long circular walking path extending over heavily vegetated hills and through
beautiful lakes. At one point in the walk, there is a small pond of perhaps
half an acre that is the habitat of a four-foot tall blue heron (Old Grey Coat)
and his snow-white mate (Princess of the Pond). (Note: Herons, unlike the
lesser immoral man, mate for life). Though there are many larger lakes and
ponds on the trail, this smaller pond is the preferred choice for these two
beautiful birds. There are dozens of geese and ducks that dominate the other
bodies of water, so I presume that the herons prefer the solitude of the
smaller pond which they alone inhabit. Herons are known for their solitude and
separation from other birds of a different stripe.
Often during our walks, my wife and I
observe one of the herons patiently standing in the water waiting for his meal
to swim close enough to be speared by his razor-sharp beak. He may stand thusly
for hours.
Though the heron has no physical beauty to
commend himself to the world when standing alone, he becomes one of the most
beautiful and graceful of birds on the wing whose span is often more than six
feet. In fact, gracefulness is one feature that symbolizes the heron.
How do the characteristics of the HERON
suggest themselves to the Christian? Allow me to point out only six ways of the
HERON that should also be the ways of the Christians:
Patience
Just as the heron waits patiently for
extended periods of time for his meal, so should the Christian exercise
patience in his service and expectations of the mercy and grace of the Lord. In your patience possess ye your souls. (Luke 21:19) If
the heron loses patience, he will miss his meal. If a Christian is impatient,
he will miss the blessing of God.
Hope
Just as the heron does not know, with
certainty, that the waters will yield the meal for which he patiently waits;
so, the Christian is not certain of the growth of the seed he plants in truth.
The seed falls beneath the surface of the ground and is nurtured in darkness by
the Holy Ghost. Yet, by and by, the blade breaks forth in search of the
life-giving sun. So, the Christian plants the seed of truth and awaits the
breaking forth of the Sun of Righteousness upon his labors. That by two immutable things, in which it
was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into
that within the veil. (Heb 6:18-19)
Faith
Faith is akin to Hope. Hope gives the
desired outcome of faith. But there is another dimension of faith that is
demonstrated by the heron –
FAITHFULNESS! The heron is faithful in carrying out his role in nature
instilled in his heart by his Creator at the moment of his creation. He is also
faithful to his mate throughout life. These are commendable qualities for the Christian to emulate in the
heron. Certainly, God commands a man and woman to be faithful in marriage just
as He commands the Church to be faithful to her Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus
Christ. Faith is a gift of the grace of God to save: Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:50) Faith is not our natural inclination – it is
imparted by the Holy Ghost.
Perseverance
The heron is persevering – a natural characteristic of patience combined
with hope and faith. He doesn’t choose
his place to seek food without the innate wisdom of his Maker. He knows the
waters, and he knows his prey. So once his plan is set, he waits until it bears
fruit. He is persevering in his dependence upon God to supply his victuals. Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints. (Eph 6:18) God’s time table may differ from ours. Do not
lift your prayers on high and then turn to lose hope in their being answered in the best way for us.
Separation
It is a trait of fallen man to desire to
be on the Broad Path which the world favors. It is paved with false hopes and
crowded with those who place peer acceptance and greed at the forefront.
Moreover, it leads downhill so is easy to tread. But it ends in destruction.
The heron separates himself from others of his kind and lives a nearly solitary
life (in the small pond). If he fails to find food, he has only himself to
blame, and he prefers that. The Christian should separate himself from the ‘madding crowd’ and find solace in the Lord his
God and others of like mind. Wherefore come out from among them, and be
ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Cor
6:17-18)
Now
I will turn a brief attention to the clergymen of our day who are Red Herrings.
I use RED HERRINGS since many in our day confuse the term to be RED HERON.
These profligate ministers are reprobates who deserve not much description.
They are reprobates because they, like the Serpent of the Garden, know the Word
of God; yet, deny its power in their preaching. They twist and spurn the
meaning of God’s Word to the point that it can no longer be identified as
God’s Word. They proliferate the
broadcast of RED HERRINGS before
the people – and I am not referring to anything
‘fishy.’ The Red Herring to which I refer is defined as: “[from
the practice of drawing a red
herring across a trail to confuse hunting dogs] : something that distracts
attention from the real issue.” Webster’s
Dictionary. It is no coincidence the Great Dragon who sought to devour the
child of the Woman of Revelations 12 was RED! So are his minions of the pulpit today. I do not make
reference to the many Godly, biblical preachers who stand fast on the Word of
God, but to the adulterators of it - those who attack the sanctity of marriage – God’s first institution of marriage between one man and one woman which He instituted
to symbolize the same relationship existing between Christ and His Church in
His second institution. Woe unto them
that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for
darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20) Or those who profess the murder of innocent
blood in their mother’s womb. Since you know who they are, and THEY know who
they are, I will waste no more words on such scoundrels of the Mustard Tree.
