Little Bird
I had an object lesson at Home Depot the other day. At the entrance, I pulled out a cart (or buggy, as we say in the South), from a string of carts, and immediately a whooshing sound startled me. A small bird flew out from behind the carts toward the huge electric entrance doors and perched on the window above. Wanting him to be free, I moved back over to activate the doors to open. I immediately noticed how loud the songs of other birds were outside. I thought the little bird would sense the open space and hear the other birds, so I stood there for a few moments, activating the door to give him a chance to fly out.
He just looked, however, and did not make a move. He wasn’t really trapped, but he didn’t know it. “Oh well, I tried,” I thought. Sometimes people are like that little bird. We have a chance to be really, totally free, but we stay at the window looking out, instead of going through the open door that is God’s grace and mercy. In fact, Jesus says that he IS “the door” and that we can go in and out and find pasture, or rest, in him (John 10:9). He is the door that leads to abundant life, to freedom, to peace that passes understanding, if we will but walk through it.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Life By The Way 