If it Looks Like a Duck, but Doesn't Quack like a Duck, What Could it Be?

Read: Matthew 6:25-34

More about the title later.

I love it that Jesus used simple pictures to teach us about the Father. Even His commands are often surrounded by truth that is easy to understand. For example, Jesus told those who were listening to Him that the antidote for worry was for them to ponder birds and flowers. Perhaps, there were some right there and Jesus motioned toward them; however, even if that were not the case, everyone could relate to the ordinary creatures and plants that they were accustomed to seeing in their every-day lives. If God cared for the birds and flowers, how much more would He take care of those who belong to Him? That was the lesson that even a child could understand. If God takes care of birds and flowers which are not nearly as valuable to Him as people, we have no reason to worry. I know. The lesson is easy to understand but not always easy to carry out. Most of us would admit that we're growing in this area, but we still have a ways to go.

So, what about the odd title? It relates to the yellow Duck Marigolds that are in pots on my deck. They have been beautiful, and they are still blooming vibrantly. What can I relearn about God's care by pondering this example of His beauty and the attention I lavished on those flowers?

1. The hotter the days got, the more I checked the soil and blooms, and when needed, I poured water on to the plants. Since the sun beats down so hot on the deck for a few hours each day, I knew that the plants would often need extra watering. If knowing that simple fact motivated me to take time to go out and pour water over and around the plants, how much more will our Father Who knows everything about us see to what we need, Matthew 6:8. He loves us and wants us to talk with Him in prayer, Matthew 7:7-11. I love that thought especially since this precious truth is something that the world around us often cannot fathom. To think that the Creator/Redeemer knows when the time is right to "pour water on us." He knows when the heat is too much, and He wants us to come to Him in prayer to both ask and listen to what He has to tell us. His care is not a one size fits all. He knows how we are all different from each other. His thoughts toward us are as many as the sand on the seashore. Another picture I love that teaches me about the Lord, Psalm 139:17-18.

2. My watering and dead heading shows that I care about keeping the flowers blooming as long as possible. In an unfathomably greater way, God demonstrates His care by His attention to the details in our lives; however, we need to cast our cares on Him rather than worrying, Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7. When we don't worry, those who cross our paths can see that we have a Father Who is present in our lives. He isn't absent or too busy to be involved in what concerns us, and He wants those with whom we come in contact to know Him too.

As I type those words, I think of the fact that someone who might read this never had an attentive father. No one who knew you and loved you. The singer Ethel Waters was born as the result of rape, and she said that she never had a lap to sit on. So sad; yet, she came to know the Heavenly Father and she came to know and receive His love for her. May each one who never had a father's love come to experience the strong and sweet love of the Heavenly Father, Psalm 27:10.

3. Here is one last lesson. In this case, what I learn from the flowers is the opposite of what I know to be true about Almighty God. When the flowers either freeze or fall apart, I'll toss them away. I'll do that without regret knowing that more can be purchased next spring. Praise God. He never throws away His children. We are held tightly in His care, and He will not abandon us, John 10:27-30; Hebrews 13:5., He continues to pursue us. We are not expendable to Him. The Bible gives us a beautiful illustration of God's strong stubborn love in the book of Hosea. It is there that the Lord paints a picture of His love using an object lesson. God's prophet Hosea is the one who God used to show His people what His love is like. Hosea was told to marry an immoral woman, knowing she would be unfaithful to him. God's man obeyed and suffered the pain of his wife's betrayal. Yet, in the course of time, God told Hosea to love her and to buy her back out of the bondage she was experiencing, Hosea 3. What a picture of God's love for His people Israel and us too. The pain and shame Hosea experienced was a picture of the pain God endures when His children turn away; yet, He continues to call them back.

In addition to Hosea, Peter also tells us that we are precious to God. So much more valuable than the plants or birds, 1 Peter 1:18-19. Because the Father sent Jesus on a most important mission that has ever been undertaken, and Jesus came willingly! The God/Man walked among us, John 1:14. Jesus took our punishment. He bore the hell on the cross that we deserved. He paid the ultimate price. In a way we cannot comprehend, Jesus became sin so that we could become His righteousness. What an exchange. Jesus took on Himself our sins so that we could receive His righteousness. The currency that paid this sin debt wasn't anything as base as money but rather it was Jesus' blood, 1 Peter 1:18-19. What a picture Jesus' sacrifice is of His trustworthiness and love, 1 Corinthians 8:9;2 Corinthians 9:15.

No wonder we are told in Romans 8:32 that since Jesus died for us, He surely would not withhold anything that we need in the here and now. Another reminder not to worry.

Lord, when we ponder Your beautiful flowers and birds, remind us not to worry.