I've never been much of a hunter. In fact, there's very little that I'm good at which can actually be classified as a characteristically male pursuit. But, lately I've begun to stalk and hunt hummingbirds. I've discovered the joy of hunting, and though I'm not bagging deer, elk, or elephants, I am bringing home trophies that required just as much skill to bring down. Hummers are elusive, shrewd creatures, and hunting them requires stealth, agility, guile, patience, and nerves of steel.
One must shroud himself in limbs and green foliage that is liberally festooned with blossoms of fragrant flowers. Then it is necessary to creep slowly toward the lair of the mighty hummingbird so as not to startle him and provoke an attack. Sometimes it helps to buy bottles of hummingbird scent to smear over one's plum and daphodil colored camouflauge. Then, it is a matter of sitting still as a tree for tedious hours on end.
Okay, actually, none of that is true. Hunting hummingbirds is really just a matter of sitting under a feeder in a lawn chair with a loaded camera, sipping hot coffee until the birds buzz by and feed long enough for one to lumber out of the chair and focus and release the shutter.
But, in my mind its as fearsome and rigorous as hunting elephants!
Hummingbirds have been doing what they do since God created them. You can count on them week in and week out. They buzz about with studied proficiency and awe-inspiring precision. The Texans, on the other hand, have been playing football since they were kids in Pop Warner league, but that never stops them from putting on a shocking display of ineptitude. Hummingbirds fly for the sheer joy of flying, and they don't need hefty contracts and signing bonuses to do it. They are fast and fleet, and are rarely sacked or throw an interception. Their skills of hovering and flitting round the feeder are dazzling to behold, and hummingbirds never give up 21 unanswered points in the last four minutes of the game. What's best is I can watch and be entertained by hummers for hours without once ever throwing the TV remote at them.
I would turn my allegiance to the Cowboys, but that would give my buddy Gene too much satisfaction.
Humpty Dumpty, famed wall-sitter and son of Lerline and Edgar Dumpty of Southington was found dead today of an apparant fall from his wall. Investigators say there were no eye-witnesses to today's tragedy. Lerline and Edgar found the shell of their son while taking their morning walk.
Police have not yet determined a motive in Dumpty's death. There was no note found near the body, and the Dumpties insist that Humpty was not the kind who would jump off the wall. "He loved life," insists Edgar.
Friends say Dumpty had been despondant lately over the fact that his girlfriend Flo ran off with one of the King's men. Dumpty confided in his best friend Carl that from atop the wall he could see Flo and her new suitor riding away on one of the King's horses. Yet, Carl agreed that Dumpty was not the kind of egg who would scramble himself.
Passers-by report hearing someone shout: "carpe omletum" just seconds before hearing an awful splatting sound. Police, therefore, have not ruled out foul play, and admit that the King's man and Flo are under an "unbrella of suspicion."
When asked by this reporter about funeral arrangements, Lerline said: "I think we'll just have him made into a nice souffle." "He would have wanted it that way," agreed Edgar.
We who live on the Gulf Coast hear the same sermon every year from our public officials: “Prepare! Stock up on water, non-perishable food, candles, flashlights, a radio, and fresh batteries. Keep your important family records in a waterproof container. Be certain that you have enough water and food to last for at least three or four days. It may be that in the event of a hurricane that help will not reach you for at least that long. In fact, prepare for a week or two without electricity!” So, we prepare. We buy a few extra groceries for our hurricane supplies each week, starting with the beginning of hurricane season. We check our supply of batteries, test flashlights and radios to be sure they are in working order. When a hurricane threatens, we finalize all our preparations, even making certain that our gas tanks never fall below half a tank.
It has been a long time since Hurricane Alicia hit us in 1983, but we all knew another storm was inevitable. Longtime residents still talk about hurricane Carla in tones that indicate they still harbor feelings of incredulity that she could do such terrible damage. So, we prepare. Every year. Dutifully. Hurricane, or no hurricane, we make ready for the inevitable.
However, as we saw after Hurricane Ike hit us nearly two weeks ago, some did not prepare. They did not heed the preparation sermon. Within a day after the storm, some residents of the Gulf Coast were heard on local radio and news reports angrily demanding, “Where is my water and my food? Why hasn’t anyone brought it to me yet? WHERE IS MY ICE?!” Some were told before the storm to evacuate the area of landfall, but they refused. Yet, at the height of the storm, as the fiercest winds raged, and the storm surge was coming ashore, they called local officials in Galveston demanding to be rescued. To be sure, some people lost everything they had in the ravaging storm, so they need help, but others just as certainly did not heed the warnings and prepare.
You know, there is another sermon that all of us who read our Bibles hear every day. The message is exactly the same: Prepare! The day of judgment is coming. The Hebrew writer said that it is appointed for all men to die and then face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Paul told the people of Athens that Jesus will someday judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). When that day comes we will all stand before the judgment seat of Jesus and give an answer for the things that we have done in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
It is conceivable that Hurricane Ike will be the very last hurricane that will ever strike the United States. Nature is funny that way. You never know when a natural disaster will occur. But, it is just as likely that a dozen more will strike before the end of time. However, what is absolutely certain is that the day of judgment will come. It has been appointed by God, and the judgment will come just as surely as the flood of Noah’s day came because God promised it (2 Peter 3:1-7). And, it is just as certain that many people will not be prepared, even though they have Bibles and read them. They know the certainty with which the judgment day is promised by God, but when it comes they will be like the foolish virgins who did not take enough oil for their lamps (Matthew 25:1-13). These people will not have prepared their lives by obeying the gospel of Christ. And, like the virgins, they will hear the Lord say: “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you” (vs. 12).
The judgment day will be a far more momentous day than the landfall of Hurricane Ike. Get ready now, obey the gospel, be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and then serve God faithfully. When the day of judgment comes all the water and bags of ice in the world won’t help you.
To tell you the truth, I feel a little guilty about Ike. We lost power for 6 hours. People a few blocks away were without for several days. We lost one limb out of a tree. People nearby lost whole trees.
When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Him: “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Many people today think like Pilate. Some think there is no real truth, others think truth is relative and is whatever you want it to be, others believe truth exists but it is so ethereal that only the most learned sage can know it. None of these views is accurate. Truth exists, it is not relative, and it is something all men can know and embrace. Jesus taught that He came to bear witness to the truth (vs. 37).
Concrete truth exists. Moral certainty bothers immoral people. Uncertainty better fits their agenda, because they can scurry and hide behind the popular notion that there is no real truth. If there is no genuine concrete truth, then there is no basis upon which people can criticize and condemn them. What is ironic is that many people who say there is no real truth also claim to be Christians. How can this be? Jesus said there is truth: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Do you believe in Jesus? Then you must believe in the existence of truth! Not only did Jesus affirm that God’s word is truth, He also said the truth saves men (John 8:32). Those who want to live in sin may run and hide from the light (John 3:19-21), but the light of truth still blazes brightly.
Truth is not relative. Moral relativism is the next retreat of the ungodly. Since immoral men cannot deny the existence of truth, their best bet is to make truth look as muddy as possible. With righteous indignation they cry: “What is right for one man may not be right for another!” This is one of the most hollow and untrue arguments ever invented. It has no bearing at all on the truth of God’s word. Consider. God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). He made the sun, the moon, and the stars (vs. 14-16). The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It has followed this course from the very first day that it gave its light, and it will never rise in the west. When I stand facing north, east is on my right and west is on my left, but if I turn to face the south, my left now faces east. Has my perspective to the sun’s rising changed the truth of where the sun rises? Does it suddenly rise in the west because my left side faces east? The truth of the sun’s rise in the east does not at all change with my perspective!
Neither does divine truth change based upon the perspective of men. One cannot say “I just don’t see it that way” in order to reject divine truth that makes him uncomfortable. He cannot say “In my religious tradition we look at things differently.” Whatever one’s perspective, Jesus is divine (John 1:1). Whatever one’s religious “tradition” baptism is still essential for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:27). And, one’s personal perspective does not diminish the fact that sin exists and it will condemn men (1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23).
Truth can be known. The last gasp of the immoral man is to declare that no one can understand the truth - it is only for the most enlightened theologians to know truth. With great contempt, the sinner says: “Who do you think you are? No one really knows whether my actions are right or wrong!” Remember, Jesus said that the truth saves and that people can know the truth (John 8:32). It has been said by those who analyze such things that the Bible was written on the reading level of a grade school child. Good and honest hearts have no trouble understanding the truth of God’s word that pertains to the salvation of their souls. What people find difficult is finding creative ways to justify their sinful conduct while the brilliant light of truth shines on them.
When I look at the division among my brethren I often find myself in Pilate's position. However, I take comfort in "let God be true though every man a liar". His truth is revealed but I often wonder whether we have made seeking that truth more complicated than He did.
