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Our garden is not our own – we share it with some wildlife. The trees are nesting places for a variety of birds. This year we’ve hosted a family of pigeons. They recently hatched some babies, who just love to wake us up around 4:30am.
For the local cats, our garden is both their toilet and fighting ground. Daily I have to check and remove the ‘little gifts’ they have deposited on the lawn. Last week I had to break up a potential scrap between two rival felines.
My favourite lodgers are the hedgehogs, who hide away in the bushes and shrubs. They only come out a night to feed and you can sometimes see them at dusk.
The Old Testament records the building of a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon, son of King David, and was completed around 1000BC.
This Temple was a very important place for the Jews. It was the centre and focus of their worship, and it was God’s address on earth. The writer of Psalm 84 opens with these lines…
“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.”
This is a beautiful Psalm all about the writer’s longing to be in God’s presence at the Temple. But what struck me was the reference to the birdlife… why is this mentioned?
Commentators suggest that the writer was somewhat envious of the birds! They had made their home in the Temple, but he could only visit on occasions.
This draws out the difference between living or dwelling in God’s presence and visiting! The priests worked in the Temple, but the average Jew would only go a few times for sacrifices and the various festivals.
We live in New Testament times, which means that we don’t have to go to a specific place to meet with God. That’s because Christians are filled with God’s Holy Spirit. In other words, God is with us wherever we go.
This is really encouraging and comforting: When we are at work, God is there! When we are in difficult situations, God is there! When we feel lonely, lost or even abandoned, God is there!
Is God ‘at home’ in your life?
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader