[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 01/Sep/2024]
In my last reflection I reminisced about a town in central Australia where they held an annual regatta on a river where there was no water. I thought this time I would also recall an experience in Queensland, Australia, in the tropics.
In the evening we were sometimes sitting on the veranda at sunset when we saw the whole sky fill with large black birds, thousands of them. Except they weren’t birds. They were giant fruit bats, flying inland to feed on fruit. They were the size of small cats with a wingspan of a metre, or about three feet to people of my age. There was a colony of them on a creek near the town we were staying in. You could see them hanging in the trees as you drove by during the day.
One evening we parked there just as the sun was setting and watched them all take off. A truly amazing sight, and an example of God’s great creation, even if you didn’t want to go anywhere near them for various reasons. I was reminded of the time when Jesus told us not to worry about what we need to eat and drink.
“Look at the birds (or bats). They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”
Matthew 6 v26 [NLT]
Because we are more valuable our heavenly Father provides our food too, and not the supermarkets as many children apparently think. That’s why we as Christians give thanks to Him before we have our meals.
In recent years, for man-made reasons we have all experienced shortages of food, fuel and many items, even toilet rolls, resulting in high prices and inflation. And for most pensioners they now have to face increases in electricity and gas prices in the coming months like all of us, while at the same time the help of Winter Fuel Payments are withdrawn for most of them from this year. For families of low income, as well as the pensioners, these rises mean choosing between having enough to eat and heating their homes. This may seem as though the Father is not meeting the commitment that Jesus promised.
And yet as we walk into any supermarket we see an enormous choice of food, so much so that large amounts have to be thrown away. It’s just that we fail to set up the right practical and economic systems to make sure that everybody has enough to pay for all the food and fuel energy they need. Thank God that there are groups who collect the “waste” food from supermarkets and distribute it to families where it is needed. I heard of one charity that for every £1 donated was able to supply five meals to those in need at very low prices. That makes more of the money of those in need available for fuel bills.
Those of us who have lived for a number of years have seen crises like these come round regularly, and yet our Father has always been faithful to us and always meets our needs. As Jesus also said,
“These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow …”
Matthew 6 v32-34 [NLT]
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Last week’s reflection: Am I My Brother’s Keeper? by David Makanjuola
Contributed by Michael Goble; © Michael Goble