I will never forget this hiking experience in one of Florida’s scrub forests. We came upon a family of scrub jays. I had heard that, unlike most birds, they have very little fear of humans. That proved to be an understatement. Although we were out in the wild, they landed on our heads, hands, and shoulders, checking us out as though we were curiosities to be thoroughly examined.
I snapped this photo of my wife, Susie, with one of these beautiful birds perched on her hand. It remains as one of my favorite shots of all time, not only because both the lovely lady and the statuesque bird posed so nicely, it always reminds me of deeper truths.
Most flocks of birds will scatter when you approach, fearful that you will hurt them, though their fears are almost always unfounded. I, for one, would love to walk up to a bird and stroke its feathers and have it perch on my finger and sing a song. I have no desire to harm them. I want only to enjoy their beauty. But they fly away, ignorant of my desires to share the blessing of their presence.
I wonder if God feels the same way when people scatter whenever he wants to draw near. The Bible says that God seeks to be with us and rejoices over us, but some people fear his presence. They think he will pounce on them for wrongdoings. They are shivering sparrows who believe they are the next meal for a wrathful deity, so they fly away.
If a person is alienated from God, perhaps fear is justified. Perhaps wrath is to be expected with regard to a person who has no love for his creator. Yet, even some of those who have made peace with God through Jesus Christ are still afraid. They don’t want to sit and sing songs of worship. They’re still guilt-ridden or simply accustomed to flying away.
Even though my voice squawks like a scrub jay's, I will sit and sing my heart out to my Master anyway. -@BryanDavisAuth Share on XSince I have been made a friend of God, I will never join the scattering birds. I am like a scrub jay. I want to fly to my Master’s hand when I see Him walking down the lane, seeking to have fellowship with me. Even though my voice squawks like a scrub jay’s, I will sit and sing my heart out anyway, because I have no fear of my Master, and I know he loves to hear my joyful noise, whether it is off-key or not.
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26)
Bryan Davis is the author of Let the Ghosts Speak as well as several bestselling series, including Dragons in our Midst, the Reapers Trilogy, the Time Echoes Trilogy, Dragons of Starlight, and Tales of Starlight. He and his wife, Susie, work together as an author/editor team to create his fantasy/adventure tales.
In 19th century Paris, Justin Trotter, an immigrant from England, is making his way as a book translator while paying for his blind twin sister’s care. One evening, Marc Noël, Justin’s well-to-do friend and fellow thespian, invites him to a masquerade party at an abandoned schoolhouse. Justin hopes this will be an opportunity to get to know Marc’s lovely though sharp-tongued sister, Francine.
At the event, Justin meets four ghostly strangers—two adults and two children—who warn him that the party guests are in danger, and they must leave at once. True to their prediction, a murder takes place, and Justin is the prime suspect. He escapes and becomes a fugitive, hiding in the Paris catacombs.
Mystery and intrigue swirl as the ghost of Joan of Arc and other martyrs guide Justin on a lonely journey to prove his innocence and protect his sister from an abusive caretaker. Who really committed the crime? Marc? Francine? A ghost? And does seeing these ghosts mean he is going insane? Maybe he really is the murderer after all.
There is only one way to find out, to let the ghosts speak as they reveal the mysteries within Justin’s mind.
