CARDINAL IN MY MIRROR

Originally written several years ago – some content may be dated but the message is timeless.

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At work I park under a tree and close to the building.  I hear a lot of birds more than I see them.  One morning I heard a ruckus over at the tree line at the back of the parking lot.  I was just about to go into the building, but it caught my attention enough to stop and check it out.  What I heard was a bunch of Blue Jays making the kind of noise and racket that they make when an intruder is in their space.  And they were diving down at something and all of a sudden, I made it out.  It was a coyote.  A young one running as fast as it could to get away from the noisy, pecking birds!  The birds didn’t really hurt it too much, just pecked it a few times to make sure he got the message – “STAY OUT OF OUR TERRITORY!”  I laughed because the poor little coyote didn’t stand a chance against 6-8 Blue Jays.  They can really raise the roof with their noise!  I do like them though, they are very “community” oriented.    They take care of each other and their young like a big family and I like that.

The birds that I hear first in the morning at home are the Cardinals and that is what I hear when I get out of my car at work.  Their song lilts through the air so effortlessly.  I really love their song.   One day one of the gals that I work with told me that she had seen a Cardinal on my truck when she was looking out the window on her break.  I thought… oh ok.  No big deal really… but then when I went to my truck that evening after work, I noticed there were these funny little scratches in the driver’s side view mirror.  I sat there for a little bit and couldn’t figure out what they were from… then it dawned on me that these were from that Cardinal.  I bet the Cardinal that my co-worker saw was the one who left these marks.  He saw himself in the mirror and thought it was another bird and was trying to run it off… out of “his” territory!  They often do this with windows on houses or other buildings that have tinting on them to be more mirror like.  I laughed thinking of that beautiful little red bird pecking away at that mirror trying to get the other bird to leave and he wouldn’t.  He just sat there and pecked back!  From the looks of my side view mirror, he had quite a time trying to convince that “other bird” to leave.  I bet he flew away after having quite a time of pecking – never realizing that was himself in the mirror. 

The Bible talks about looking into a mirror too.  James 1:22-25 tells us what not to do. Here is the scripture.  “…²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”
This scripture refers to reading the Bible and being “doers” of the Word.  Reading or listening to the Word of God should sink deep into our souls.  Then after reading or hearing the Word go and be what it tells us to be and do what it tells us to do.  We, as Christians, must remember who we are and “Whose” we are.  We are children of The Most High God!  The Creator of everything!  We are so loved and blessed by Him who created us, and we should tell others that they can be adopted into our family and share the inheritance as well!  It is such a wonderful privilege to be able to share Jesus with people. 

Tomorrow is Good Friday.  This is the day Jesus was crucified and died on the cruel cross after the crowd shouted, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”.  A little less than a week before the same crowd was praising Him as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey during His “triumphant entry.”  These people apparently were those who looked in the mirror and when they walked away, forgot who and Whose they were.  Human beings are strange creatures. This scripture speaks about the tongue being something that man cannot tame. 
James 3:8-12
⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” 

Let’s not be double minded when we walk away from the mirror – God’s Word.  God’s Word is very specific.  Be doers of the Word and not only hearers.  Remember who and Whose you are after reading or listening to God’s Word.  Tell others!  I challenge you to tell one person in the next week about your Jesus!  It is a life changing experience!  They will thank you for it!  He Loves you so much.  After all, He calls you His beloved.

The Song – Worthy Is The Lamb – Darlene Zschech

Leah,
Le**@My*******.com