Does God Care About Birds?

 

Should Christians Care About birds?

 

Part of being a Christian is Creation Care.  Should Christians care about birds?  God did and does.  I am not talking about swarmy bird and bunny loving.  When he created them he called them “good.”  He ordered Noah to take into the ark “two of every living.’  And read, with open eyes this verse. Genesis 9:15.  God’s great covenant of life, symbolized by the rainbow, was with “all living things.”  “All,” not just us.  Why? God’s design is infinitely complex and interconnected.  It all works because it all works together.  And the second reason that birds are so important?— we can count them.  That is important because they actually are “canaries in the coal mine” of God’s ecosystem. They are both predator and prey, they control insects and live off them, they pollinate and distribute seeds, and  many other living things — fish, amphibians.  They are now delivering us a very troubling message.  Bird populations are down almost 30% since the 70’s.  There are 3 billion less birds in the U.S. than there were. Our ecosystem is degrading quickly.

Birds are thus both the symbol of and the victim of a failure of creation care.

 

Consider bluebirds.  Their parents must feed them about 8,000 insects.  Songbird nestlings do not eat seeds.  The trees and plants that God put here in North America together, thrive together.  Plants native to the our region can provide 35 times more food than those imported trees and shrubs.  The fruit from our native shrubs has 50 times more fat than imports. Stored fat is what makes the miracle of bird migration possible.  For recommendations of what trees and shrubs to plant in your yard go to https://www.suncitybirdclub.org/native-plants

 

Finally, let’s do no harm these God’s creatures.  Keep cats inside — the # 1 bird killer, and second, protect birds from striking your windows.  For why and how to do this go to https://www.suncitybirdclub.org/window-strikes. God did not make windows. Birds do not see them, hit them and die by the hundreds of millions.

 

And after all, Jesus did say “His eye is on he sparrow...”