For the birds

You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s. — Exodus 20:17

The bird feeder attached to my office window is just beyond the reach of the squirrels. But one squirrel has made it his mission to get the seeds meant for the birds. Having seen his tiny neighbors nibbling noisily from the abundant supply, the squirrel is fixated on enjoying the same pleasure. He has tried coming at the feeder from every direction but without success. He clawed his way up the wooden window casing to within inches of the feeder but slid down the slippery glass. He climbed the thin branches of the forsythia bush. Then he reached so far that he fell to the ground.

The squirrel’s tireless attempts to get what isn’t meant to be his calls to mind a man and woman who reached for food that wasn’t meant to be theirs. They too suffered a fall — a fall so severe that it hurt the whole human race. Because they were disobedient and helped themselves to food that God told them not to eat. He put them where they could no longer reach it. As a result of their disobedience, they and their descendant must now work hard to get what He originally had given as a gift — food (see Gen. 2-3).

May our desire to have what God has kept from us not keep us from enjoying what He has given to us (Heb. 13:5). — Julie Ackerman Link

Thinking It Through

What (or who) am I looking

to for happiness?

Is this wise? Or do I need

 to make some changes?

How may I be content?(Heb. 13:5).

READ: Hebrews 13:5-16

Godliness with contentment is great gain. — 1 Timothy 6:6

The Bible in one year:

• Deuteronomy 11-13

• Mark 12:1-27