Romans 1:19-20 – For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (ESV)

I was scheduled to preach the other night, but, sadly, I had a bad headache, and was under pressure from the throbbing in my head. As we drove to collect my daughter on the way to the church, my wife and I noticed thousands of starlings flocking together as the sun set. They moved as a whole, in a manner similar to a shoal of fish in the sea. It was very spectacular to see this amorphous shape writhe and turn as the birds moved this way and that, up and down, left and right, like blobs of ink on a sheet of glass. As we drove near this mass of birds, they darkened the sky, and then, just as quickly, they were gone as they settled down for the night in the trees.

It is not something that we see every day, so I wondered at the event and the beauty of its shape, and marvelled at the quantity of birds as they flocked together in concert. The whole group seemed to become one. Whilst I am sure that there are analogies to be made with the body of Christ, encouraging one another, being one, etc., what struck me first was the presence of God revealed to us through the wonder of the event.

This movement of nature was to me a reflection of our Creator God. In some way, I was touched and lifted up by the signature of God revealed through this mass of birds. In the excitement of the event, the stress of my headache lessened as I focused my mind totally for a moment on the wonder of this exhibition, and not on my headache. It was as if God were saying to me, “Focus on Me, not on the pain,” and it lessened progressively as we drove on. We can be thankful that God is unseen, yet evident in many ways throughout our existence.

Prayer: Lord, we thank You for Your graciousness, for You are always there, smiling at us from within Your creation — and yet You are willing to meet us, each one, in person, where we are. We say, “Welcome, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Come and speak Your life-giving words into our lives today. Amen.

Rod Marshall rmarshall@glos.ac.uk Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England