Issue 1216 – Airborne – August 8, 2023
Today’s image is a small flight of snow geese taking off that I took some years ago. All geese and diving birds require a runway to become airborne. Puddle ducks, like mallards, can launch without the run, allowing them to explode straight up into flight. The technical reason escapes me, but it has to do with differences in the size of the wing-to-body size ratio.
It’s an incredible experience to see a large flock of snow geese (or Canadian geese) getting airborne. The noise of the communicating geese is loud, and then to see hundreds or even thousands of them launch into their run, start flapping and get into the air is awe-inspiring.
I have had the blessing of standing under the flight path of geese migrating north in the spring and south in the autumn. I have seen flights of them virtually block out the sky as they fly over in tens of thousands. The birds would fly over in endless waves of huge flocks; sometimes, it was almost impossible to tell where one flock ended and the next began.
In places, the geese no longer migrate. The Lower Mainland has large numbers of non-migratory Canadian Geese. These birds have plenty of available food year-round and few natural predators, so they no longer feel the call to migrate. In many parks, they have become a problem.
Their unwillingness to move reminds me of a story in the Old Testament. In Genesis 11, we read about the people of Babel and their plan to build a tower to God.
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:1-4
God was displeased. He confounded the people by confusing their languages, which caused them to spread out.
Why was God displeased?
There are at least two main reasons. Their pride caused them to want to be better than anyone else and make a name for themselves. The pride extended beyond just a bit of ego. It was indicative of their willful rebellion against God.
After the flood, God instructed Noah and his family to disburse and fill the planet.
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Genesis 9:1
The people of Babel decided that they didn’t want to obey. “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
The tower wasn’t an issue for God. His concern was deliberate disobedience. God is patient with people, but we must never confuse His patience with being unconcerned about sin.
He is holy and expects us to strive for holiness. Of course, we cannot do that on our own, which is why Jesus dies in our stead, and Holy Spirit indwells us. With His guidance and help, we can journey down the holiness road toward being more Christlike.
Praise the LORD that He doesn’t leave us to our own devices and loves us enough to intervene.
Be Blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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