HOME AND NEST!

“Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young- Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God” (Psalm 84:3).

A home for the sparrow and a nest for the swallow to lay her young! The Psalmist who entered the temple suddenly looked up to the altars there. He was surprised. The sparrow had built its home and the sparrow had laid its young ones there. 

The translators of this psalm express the view that in its source language of Hebrews, this verse looked as though asking “Sparrows have a home. The swallows also have a nest to keep their young ones but where is my nest?” 

During several occasions, we think this way. “Where is my nest? Do I not have a nest in this world? Am I not wandering like a stranger and foreigner? Do I not have a permanent city for me?” Jesus Christ said, “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). 

 The compassion of Christ enables the sparrow to get a nest. Indeed, it is a cheap bird being sold at a very low cost. Indeed, it is a tiny bird running to men in search of refuge. But God loves it and has given it space near the altars.

Just think over the words ‘nest’ and ‘home.’ The nest is not a permanent one but the home is. The young ones live in the nests and once they grow, leave the nests. In the same way, you also lead your life in the world in a nest. You have a wife and children. It is only a nest and not a home. You are in the lookout for the eternal dwelling which is the home. It is the heavenly home. It is the home of God. When you live in the nest of the earth, the goodness and mercy follow you during all the days of your life. When you leave this nest, you will live in the house of the Lord forever. 

When we proclaim the Gospel to a person, we pose this question, “If you die today, where will you spend the eternity?’ This question makes a man think It makes him think that he requires an eternal home and an assurance. Dear children of God, you do have a firm hope “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Corinthians 5:1).

To meditate: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).