God’s Grace

George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town, one Sunday morning came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak….”I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, “What do you have there, son?”
“Just some old birds,” came the reply.
“What are you going to do with them?” I asked.
“Take ’em home and have fun with ’em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease ’em and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time..”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?”
“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll take ’em to them.”
The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”
“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”
The pastor reached into his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

In a similar way Satan has trapped many people, gloating over the sinister fun he will have with them. For a while the cage may seem to give provision and protection but Satan’s goal is to generate hatred, abuse, cursing, killing and resentment. Then he would like to achieve his ultimate goal, death for them, but Jesus has intervened. He came to pay the price for their redemption. It cost Him His life blood for a world of people who didn’t appreciate what He came to do. They spit on Him, cursed Him and killed Him, but He used that very action to bring about the plan of salvation. That offer of salvation is available to all who acknowledge their accountability to God, admit they are sinners and ask for mercy. In Luke 18:9 – 14 the despised tax collector prayed, “God, have mercy on me a sinner.” The Lord declared that he left the temple justified, forgiven. You too can be freed from this trap in the same way.

At this point Pastor Thomas picked up the cage and walked out.

There is freedom on the sunny side,

Henry Wiebe