A Counter-Culture Bird!

I know I’ve written much about my birdfeeder and the joys and challenges it has brought into my life (think squirrels!).  Well, my birdfeeder has also led me to make some discoveries.  One of those is a bird called a nuthatch. It’s a cute little bird with a long beak and a very interesting way of doing things. You see, a nuthatch walks down a tree trunk or bird feeder, looking for food, upside down.  That’s right, it goes headfirst!

We might say that, the nuthatch is a counter-culture bird.  Whereas other birds will land on the bottom of the feeder and eat from the shelf filled with seed that is right in front of them, the nuthatch will start at the top of the feeder and make its way down the feeder’s side headfirst until it can reach the seed.  It will then stay there I an upside down position, eating until it is done—at times even moving around the feeder sideways, but always maintaining an upside down position.  It’s really a very strange sight. It is not the norm for a bird. Again, we might say it’s a bit counter-culture as far as birds go!

A nuthatch eating upside down!

Do you know that the gospels call us to live our lives somewhat like the nuthatch? Those of us who are followers of Jesus are called to live in a way that might seem “upside down” to the people around us.  After all, humility, gentleness, kindness, patience are not the way most people live their lives.  To prefer giving to receiving and taking the backseat to taking the front seat; when one is “slow to speak and quick to listen” (James 1:19) and lives their life putting the interests of others before their own (Philippians 2:4), one is living their life in way that is extremely counter-culture. 

In what I call Jesus’ counter-culture sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything…You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16 – NIV)

Jesus calls his followers to stand out from the crowd by living their lives differently from those around them. Read through his sermon and see how he called them to live their lives according to new patterns and a different set of standards. It’s a call to be a people who will go against the flow, live upside down, and be counter-culture.

Let’s allow the nuthatch to remind us of Jesus’ call upon our lives that the kingdom of God would be expanded and God our Father might be glorified!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris