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If you disassembled this little nest into its 350 individual sticks, grass blades, and a dab of mud, and you or I tried to put back together, how well do you think it would go?

Could either of us re-create this airy, wooden bowl, as it were, just the right size for a bird, safe enough to protect miniature eggs from falling, and secured to the tree so well that thunderstorm and blizzard could not shake it free? That is a deceptively simple appearing feat of engineering.

If I could make just two or three twigs stay in these branches, that would be an accomplishment. I don’t think I could make an entire nest stick together or stay in a tree.

A little bird can do all this — without hands — using only her beak.

Try to picture this — you glue a big beak on my face, and tie my hands behind my back. You instruct me to build another nest just like this one using only twigs, dirt, and junk on the ground, and only with my beak, what would it look like? Would anyone call it a shelter safe for wet hatchlings an hour old?

How can an animal with a brain the size of a pea possibly construct such a structure??

What can we assume about a Christian who gives away all they have to feed the poor, keeps the Ten Commandments, understands the Bible inside and out, has extraordinary faith, hears God speaking to them personally all the time, and dies as a martyr?

Unfortunately, not much it seems.

It might be because all of that can be done without a heart that cherishes Christ and that is humble before him. I think the key word is ‘heart.’

Consider what these passages reveal about the heart.

“If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:22-23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Think of your favorite bad guy. The mainstream media, the Republicans or Democrats, Isis, demonic spirits, or whoever.

Here is what your loving Father says to you about them.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10-15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

He knows what it feels like to be broken.

“… he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces … he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed…He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:2b-5, 7  

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”” Luke 22:19 

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” Matthew 27:46

He was a man of sorrows.

He was well acquainted with grief.

He did not have an imposing presence and he was not intimidating.

If I said to him, “I feel ugly. People look away when they see me coming,” He could say, “Yeah, I know what that feels like.”

“But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me… My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me… My enemies stare at me and gloat.” Psalms 22:6-7, 14, 17

Rejected.  Despised.  Oppressed.  Forsaken.  Hit.  Beaten.  Afflicted.  Pierced.  Crushed.  Wounded.  Broken.

Sometimes I enjoy songs about a heart getting broken or feeling lonely because I relate to them.  He knows what all my emotions feel like. 

“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:10-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I don’t think everyone will bow the knee because Jesus forces them to. It’s more like, that will be the automatic response we all will have.

Like if you stared into headlights from a couple inches away. Or if someone put a giant spotlight ten feet in diameter in your living room with you.  You shield your eyes, turn away, and it’s still blinding.  You can’t not react to something like that. 

Or maybe like we see in movies where a totally corrupt, self-serving villain has just discovered who they really offended. That person outmatches them a million to one, and they are about to get their revenge. The knees go weak. The heart melts. They slink to the floor in terror.

For some people, it will be that kind of horror. For others, just the opposite. He will be unleashing his wrath against many, and for others, he will get vengeance for them.

That’s a little bit like it will be meeting Jesus, I imagine. No one — good or bad —  will be able to stand. Every knee will bow because that’s what happens to knees in the Presence of someone so vast. 

No one will be in denial about who He is. Everyone will know very plainly that Jesus Christ is, in fact, Lord.

The job of a signpost is to point away from itself to something more important.

You and I are signposts.

Maybe you’ve heard, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork,” ‭‭(Psalm‬ ‭19:1, 3)‬. In that sense, the heavens and the sky point at God. They are majestic in and of themselves, plus they also direct our attention to Something even more majestic.

I used to think Scriptures comparing Jesus to, say, a lamb, were God trying to communicate in a way we’d understand because our brains are too tiny to really “get it.” But if Jesus never changes (Heb 13:8), and Jesus is a Lamb (Rev 5:11-12), then it would seem Jesus was a Lamb before the beginning of time. He is the prototype, as it were, and the baby animal is the copy, the signpost.

Another example is that God was The Father before men were fathers. I don’t think he made earthly fathers (the good ones, at least) and said, “See that guy? I’m kind of like him.” Because he is the original and we are the copies, the signposts pointing at the real thing. So instead it would be, “See that man? He’s a little like me.”

Maybe that is why he invented rock when he created the universe. Because he is a Rock (I Corinthians 10:4).

Maybe that’s why he added fire when he invented Earth. Because he is a Fire. It’s a signpost.

And that could be why he also decided to make the Sun. And Light. And Water. And Eyesight. And Arms. And Smelling. And Hearing. And Kings. And Husbands. And Helpers. And Healers. And Judges. And people who are creators. And Majesty. And Comforters. And Potters. And Deliverers. And Shade. And Hiding Places. And Shepherds. And Song. And Advocates. And Prophets. And Authors. And Sons. And Sovereigns. And Roots. And Priests. And Branches. And Stars. And Bread. And Bridegrooms. And Captains. And Warriors. And Leaders and Commanders. And Cornerstones. And Doors. And Firstborns. And Foundations. And Friends. And Masters. And Governors. And Heirs. And Hope. And Mediators. And Messengers. And Physicians. And Plants. And Power. And Princes. And Teachers. And Offspring. And Seeds. And Vines. And Words. And Breath. And human flesh, including you and me. Because the Bible says he is all of those things.

In fact, that is why he invented so many forms of life, with all its endless wonder, including the estimated 8.7 million species of plants and animals. Because he is Life.

Everything is a signpost pointing to Him.

I used to say, “You can sleep when you’re dead!” and grab another cup of coffee.

But now it seems that, while caffeine can give you energy, it is just not the same as a full night’s sleep.

It doesn’t refresh like a day off or a much needed vacation.

It makes me feel awake, but it doesn’t make me feel alive, not like playing out in the sun does.

I’ll still take my coffee strong and black. And maybe I can sleep when I’m dead, but I’m going to enjoy some good napping while I’m alive, too.

As a scientist, the idea of miracles has puzzled me for a long time.   

The scientist in me always wants better explanations for miracles than, “He’s God. He can do whatever he wants.”

I mean, that’s true and all, but I still wished for something a little deeper.

And now I have found it.

“He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3a.

He upholds the universe by his word.

I think what the author is saying is God owns all the molecules in the universe.  He owns all the laws of gravity, positive particles attracting negative, and so forth.  He is the one who makes all that stuff keep doing what it does.  Which means he can change it up, too.  Consider the following example.  

You are in charge of the furniture in your living room.  You can put the couch there, the chairs right here, and the TV against that wall.  You can leave them there forever, move them around just for a party, or rearrange every weekend.  You may keep them or replace them if you like.

That is what God does with all of his molecules and all his laws of science.

God is to the laws of nature as you are to the arrangement of furniture in your living room.  He can leave them where he put them, rearrange them, and put them back.  Like your couch and La-Z-Boy, they stay wherever you choose.

Or to say it in a slightly more “science-y” way, dark matter, protons and electrons, the Laws of Thermodynamics, light waves — all of it — behaves how it does because Jesus holds the laws of science in place by his word.  He wills them to remain in motion each second.  If he stopped, they would go out of existence.

You and I, our cars and homes, our puppy dogs and blue jeans, all exist because Jesus keeps holding them in existence.  If he ever paused, we would stop existing immediately.

Miracles are not when God violates the laws of science.  They are his laws.  Miracles are when he rearranges his molecules.  He can do that, just like you can rearrange your TV and entertainment center.

When he rearranges his molecules, it may mean he turns cancer molecules into healthy liver molecules.  Or frees someone from an addiction.  Or makes a broken truck start.

So why not ask him to!  Remember he says, “You do not have, because you do not ask,” James 4:2.   Ask fervently and ask a lot!

Make sure your motives are to honor him.  “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”  James 4:3

Some people enjoy rearranging their furniture and would be quite delighted if someone they love asked them to do it.  I think God is kind of like that.  “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” He is searching for people to show himself strong for.  2 Chronicles 16:9, Psalm 37:4, Jer 33:3.

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