Saving Grace                 

 

 

 

Norman Rockwell, the famous illustrator, painted this picture of a Mennonnite woman and her

child praying over their meal in a restaurant.  He called it “Saying Grace”. Notice, for

this article I have changed the spelling of the word “Saying” to “Saving Grace”.

The reason might surprise you.

 

 

 

There it was—situated at the very top of a dead tree.  An Osprey family had chosen this unlikely place to call “home”. A fire had destroyed hundreds of trees in that spot  at one time, winds and heavy snows had also broken off limbs.  Yet that particular dead tree was chosen by a large bird and its mate as a nest—a resting place--high above a river where fish (its only food)were abundant and easy to spot splashing in the river below. How fortunant I was to see an actual Osprey home—and take this picture I recently made when visiting with friends while in Montana.

Somehow, this picture intrigued me, and as I did some research,  I found out a lot of “spiritual” lessons to be learned from it. 

 

This is no ordinary bird.  Our Lord often used plants and animals to bring us understanding:  To encourage people not to worry, He used simple wildflowers as an example. “Consider the lilies,” He said, and then reminded people that even though flowers do no work at all, God dresses them in splendor. His conclusion? If God clothes something temporary in such glory, He surely will do much more for us (Matt. 6:28-34). Other portions of Scripture indicate that creation is one of the ways God uses to tell us about Himself:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork,” wrote David. “Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19:1-2)

And Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

 

These birds had chosen a particular place to live; a place where they could always find food and a place of safety from other preditors which were a threat to his home and family. 

These two osprey were mates, maintaining together a tall nest above the rivers and waters below.  A home where both were committed to one another and raising their offspring. 

 

Yet there was a time when Osprey almost became extinct.  That was when a chemical called DDT was invented to kill mosquitos toward the end of WWII.  Millions had contracted malaria and other diseases that were rampant in the jungles worldwide.  DDT did kill the mosquitos, but at the same time poisoned rivers, lakes, and even the oceans by killing off beneficial plants, fish and other animals whose very existence was threatened.  So successful was this chemical, that the entire world was soon spraying  its deadly poison on food crops, forests, and even their lawns.  But entire species were becoming extinct.  Contamination of the food chain affected the Osprey by causing the nest eggs to become so fragile, no new offspring could develop.  Affected birds and fish soon died off.  DTT was finally banned, but that only in certain nations.  Poorer countries wanted to protect their crops and from those devasting diseases and insects as well.  Not only DTT was affecting our oceans and atmosphere.  Huge radiation from nucleur electrical power plants leaked, when earthquakes released pollution.  Today, one of the biggest is in Japan, still releasing waste into the Pacific ocean—killing off sea life.

 

But this is not an article written to inform us about harmful insecticides, or even Ospreys. There us plenty to read about it.  But it is to alert us as Christian believers something we seldom see in actual practice anymore: people praying over the food and drinks they consume.  Whether it is our reluctance to publically expose our faith to unbelievers, neglect, or our own disbelief in its effectiveness, much of the Bible speaks of it.  Jesus himself always prayed over and sanctified the food He shared with the thousands who came to hear Him.

 

EPHESIANS 5:15-16, 20.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 

COLOSSIANS 3:17

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

 

1 TIMOTHY 4:4

‘For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer”.

 

Perhaps the answer can be seen in Rockwell’s painting of the woman saying grace, and receiving it as well.   Even Jesus Himself publically prayed and blessed the food that fed His disciples and thousands who came to hear Him. But it was during the last supper He held with his 12 disciples that we find that amazing answer: For the very first time, Jews who had celebrated the Passover for thousands of generations were given the extraordinary experience of looking at its actual fufillment!

 

When Jesus held his last supper with his disciples, He explained to them the significance of the Passover meal (something a religious Jew repeated every year).  HE was soon to BECOME the FUFILLMENT OF IT with His death upon Calvary’s cross.

The lesson from the first Passover celebration and the peoples’ subsequent unfaithfulness – is that religious ritual that counts for very little if it is not combined with genuine faithfulness. “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith”. (Hebrews 4:2).

The celebration of the Passover under the old covenant included the week of unleavened bread. The people were to get rid of all yeast, which was symbolic of the sinful nature inherited from one generation to the next. Paul links faithfulness, i.e. examining our hearts to ensure that there is nothing unclean within us, including any thoughts which are contrary to the word of God, with that of celebrating the real Passover. A warning against partaking of that remembrance  without sincerity of heart (“this do in remembrance of Me” carries with it a stiff penalty. (1 Cor. 11: 29-30).

Truthfully, many times I failed to pray over a meal with sincere thankfulness or partook of communion without remembrance of Jesus as what Passover really means. Passover (for the Jew) was a reminder of the deliverace of their people from Egyptian bondage  when they sacrificed a lamb and put its blood on the lentil and doorposts of their homes. Paul would later write: For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:1-8).

 

That Osprey nest was occupied by two birds, committed to each other for the purpose of raising their offspring in safety and in provision for everything to sustain them.  But when none of their chicks developed, and there was no more fish to eat, it was time to move.

 It has  taken over sixty-some years for Osprey birds to make a comeback, after near extention.  That’s about the same time it’s  taken for myself to survive the effects of 5 different cancers, subsequent radiations and chemotherapies, plus surgeries for bone replacements and affected organs, for since WWII I’ve helped DDT and other chemicals poison our garden, eaten the world’s polluted food and mankind’s chemical “answers” to all ills...just as most of us.

  

But I lay before you, dear friends, the very obvious answer to why I am now 84 and having had the strength to fufill God’s call upon my life to visit and minister the love of God to some 25 countries of the world. That’s after I was saved and filled with the Spirit of God and learned to walk in His ways.

 

 Whether through instinct, prayer or God-given intimate care for His creation, He always makes a way of escape for us, which to me is beautifully contained in this “perfect prayer” Jesus taught His disciples to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. 
Amen.

 

MARY E ADAMS