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Barred Owl
R E F L E C T I O N S
Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith
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"This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing
they do not see, and hearing they do not hear,
nor do they understand." - Mt. 13:13
This is a barred owl, so-called because of the bars on their chests which allow them to blend in with the hardwood trees they like to frequent. As a result, they are rarely seen, but often heard. Their vocalizations are truly unique. Some say they sound like they are saying, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" They don't sound like that to me, but there are several strange sounds they do emit that range from hoots to sounds like a monkey might make.
What they are communicating, no one really knows. Another rather strange thing about these birds is they don't migrate, in fact they spend their lives in rather confined areas of usually six miles or less. So, they are hard to see and, even though they can be heard, they are hard to understand.
Just like many people Jesus encountered, they saw him but didn't see who he really was. They heard him, but didn't really understand him. In fact, Jesus once told his disciples that was why he often spoke in parables. Which brings us to a very important, but humbling realization. Those of us who do see and who do understand have nothing to boast about. We all were blind, and he made us see. We all were deaf, and he made us hear.
We didn't seek him, he sought us. He removed our hearts of stone and replaced them with new hearts. Salvation is a gift of grace from beginning to end. He is both the author and the finisher of our faith. Why did he choose people like us for this gift? I do not know. But I do know this, I love him because he first chose to love me. - John
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