And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” Genesis 1:20
We read in Genesis 1:20 how God began to make living creatures, and He created two different kinds of creatures. One kind was created to be confined within the limitations of the ocean, and the other kind was created with the freedom to fly. The birds were made a different kind of creation than those created for the water; this meant that the birds didn’t have the restrictions that the creatures in the water had. The birds, it seems, were made to be a picture of freedom. They were made different on purpose. They were given the privilege to live above the earth. They were able to soar across the expanse of the sky.
With this in mind, it’s no coincidence that Jesus told us to look to the birds of the air as an example of faith.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
According to Jesus, the birds were to be seen as a sign of a great heavenly reality. The birds thought differently than the people who were listening to Jesus. The people who listened to Jesus all believed they had to accomplish their ‘good works’ in order for God to provide for them. They also lived with a ‘if I don’t sow, I won’t reap’ mentality. Jesus used the birds as an example to reveal that both of these mindsets were not in line with the true reality of God.
Jesus seemed to be explaining how the birds understood that God would provide for them, not because they earned it or deserved it, but rather simply because that is the very nature of God; He is a provider, and they rested in that truth.
When we read the genesis account, we see God making it clear that the birds were made different. They were created more blessed than the other living creatures. They were created free. They were created with the ability to live from above. They were created with a heavenly perspective on things! The birds were made different.
The birds were ultimately made to be a picture of the church. We, as born-again believers in Christ, were all made new creations. When we were made ‘new’, we were made different than the rest of mankind and that is what allows us to see God from his true perspective. We don’t see a God who demands we earn his blessing, but rather a God who delights in pouring out His grace!
We were created free: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
We were created with the ability to live from above: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6
We were created with a heavenly perspective on things: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3
As the church, when we live in the freedom of who we truly are, we then also understand the same amazing truth that the birds who Jesus talked about did. We understand that it is neither by our ‘good works’ nor any ‘sowing and reaping principle’ that causes God to provide for us. We understand that it is simply because the nature of God is to be gracious towards us!
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32
The birds were created to fly; they were created to be free. The birds however, were only the example; they were a picture for us to see in order that we might be reminded on the greater reality; just as Jesus said: Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
The reality is that we, as the church, are truly free. We are not confined in a ‘works’ mentality that the rest of religious mankind is confined to. Our reality is one of freedom; praise God we are free! We understand God’s grace, His very nature, and we freely live out our relationship with God based on this glorious reality!
