April 11, 2023
That Silly Goose
My son Tyler and I love to fish together. We had one pond that we would go to each year in the springtime. This pond had a pair of geese that nested there every year. We watched these geese raise their young there in the same spot for several years. It was a spot kind of hidden on the back part of the pond.
As we would approach the nesting spot by boat one of the geese would start honking very loudly at us. The closer that we got to the nest on the shore the louder it would honk. It was warning us to stay away. When the honking didn’t work, the other goose would start limping up and down the edge of the pond like it was hurt or had a wounded wing. It was trying to get us to follow it away from the nest.
We could see either the eggs or the young goslings (depending on how far into the spring that it was) in the nest but we had no intention of harming them. We just wanted to fish this spot that we always caught fish in. But these feathered parents were super protective of their nesting spot. They looked silly honking and faking an injury to protect their young but they didn’t care. They wanted us to leave them and their family alone.
Who taught these birds their parental protective nature? Who put an instinct in their heart and mind to protect their young at all cost? Of course, God did as He did with other animals, birds, insects, and humans. He has put this protective nature in all His creations.
So if we are His children, even babies in Christ when we are first saved, can’t we trust His nature to protect us at all cost? He is the ultimate Father and He has a shield of protection over His children. Jesus said in Matthew 23:37, “… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” This verse brings up a key idea. We are only protected as long as we obey Him and stay under His protection. When we disobey and run off on our own, we lose that protection.
The good news is when we stray off like a wandering sheep, the Good Shepherd comes looking for us to rescue us and restore us to His protection. Jesus used the illustration in Luke 14:4-7, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
So if you have wandered off or even intentionally ran off from God’s presence, the great news is that He is looking for you and He wants you back. He wants you under His hand of protection and provision.
When I say that He is looking for you, He already knows where you are and how far you have wandered. He is just waiting for you to be ready to be rescued. He is not going to drag you back kicking and screaming. But He will allow bad things to happen to you that will want you to be back under His protection. So don’t be a silly goose. Call out to Jesus and He will rescue and restore you.
In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs