Articles
Kingfisher 2
R E F L E C T I O N S
Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith
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"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand."
- Jn. 10:29
Imagine you are a little fish calmly swimming near the surface of a lake on a cool autumn afternoon. Then, in a flash, you find yourself snatched out of the water, carried up to a limb, and are now looking straight into the mouth of a kingfisher. Such was the fate of this fish. He then was tossed into the air and swallowed whole. Kingfishers don't have that name for no reason. They earned it by the masterful way they can capture fish. I can't imagine what would go through the mind of a fish dispatched in this way. In one second you are at ease swimming, and then you are snatched away to a certain death. This is life and death in the natural world. But for a Christian, the order is reversed. We all were once lost in a state of spiritual death, but God in his great mercy snatched us out of that state, gave us eternal life, changed our very nature, and now holds us safely in his hands. We are now lifted to a place of security, a place where no one can snatch us out of our Father's hand. The doctrine of the security of the believer has been a doctrine that many Christians deny because they point to people who have claimed to be Christian at one time only to fall away later. But we are not saved by a profession of faith, but by the possession of faith. God knows our hearts and he knows those who are truly His. It is these that the Father holds and it is these whom he has given to his son. The evil one can, and does, snatch away the pretenders who never were in our Father's hands. They thought they were safe because of what they had done. But the Lord knows those who are his, and they are, and will always be, secure. Our security does not depend on the strength of our hands, but the strength of His. - John
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