Cardinal

John Miller
08/22/22 - Windstream Mail

No, this is not some kind of vulture, or a monster from a horror movie. This is a normal healthy male northern cardinal. He is just in the process of molting, a normal experience in all birds. What is so different is that while most birds lose their feathers and replace them so slowly that the entire process goes practically unnoticed, a few birds like cardinals and some blue jays lose their head feathers all at once. The result is a little gruesome to look at, but will gradually be covered up again with new feathers. The beautiful feathers of all birds actually hide what is pretty ugly underneath. In the case of cardinals, the ugliness is exposed more dramatically and openly than it is with other birds. In a sense, we humans are no different. We all have some ugliness inside that we try to hide. I have a friend who says we all have three lives. There is a public life which everyone can see, a private life that only those closest to us can see, and a secret life which we don't want anyone to see. That secret life is who we truly are and what we desperately try to cover. Most of us actually do a pretty good job of keeping our secret lives secret. But scripture tells us that all of our efforts at concealment will ultimately be futile. Who we are inside will one day be exposed and all of our coverings will drop away like the feathers on this cardinal's head. We all can admit that we are sinners, but the depth of our sinfulness is what we try to hide, even from ourselves. But for those who are in Christ, we will be judged not by who we are but by whose we are. The penalty for our inner ugliness has been paid, and we have been given a new and perfect covering, the very righteousness of the one who has taken our place. If you are a Christian, rejoice in your new feathers! They are beautiful. - John