Title:- People, Pelicans & The Ancient Twitcher
Genesis 1:21 So God created ……. every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
I am in no doubt that there should be a law against greasy men wearing skimpy pink ‘Speedo's’. Indeed, I have come to the conclusion that in our generation, when on the beach, there are only three safe places to look:
1) out to sea,
2) down at the sand,
3) or up into the sky.
It was the nauseating appearance of this bizarre Australian aberration (Speedo's) spray painted on hairy, old, heavily greased former eastern block men, that caused me to lift my eyes once again to heaven and there they were. The Pelicans!
North American Brown Pelicans have fast become my favorite birds. Their strange pre-flood like bill gives them a wonderful pre-historic quality and the largeness of the birds, make them fascinating to watch in flight, as like old WWII bombers from 617 Squadron ( The Dam Busters), they swoop down low over the water on calm and steady bombing runs, whilst the waves crash like furious flak all around them. That day I looked up from the beach, there were two flocks of twelve, each flying in perfect ‘V’ formation.
A team from the National Centre of Scientific Research in Villiers en Bois, France, were able to measure the heart rates of eight Pelicans as they flew in a 'V' formation
over Senegal. They report that “When flying alone, Pelicans beat their wings more frequently than birds flying in formation. When in formation however, their heart rates dropped. Our results provide empirical evidence that compared with solo flight; formation flight allows birds to reduce their energy expenditure while flying at a similar speed.” Their reason for this conclusion is that “when birds fly in formation each wing moves in an up wash field that is generated by the wings of the other birds in the formation.” That’s one theory for this way of flying and another theory for the existence of this fascinating form is that ‘V’ formation geometry could simply be “Correlated with retinal features and the location of the eye on the head. In other words placement of the eyes restricts the field of vision and this motivates the use of a V formation in flight.”
So scientists at least conclude that the ‘V’ formation of flight, saves energy, keeps the flock together, keeps them all going in the same direction and maybe teaches the young birds, migratory paths. Pretty amazing eh!
It is not hard to discern the writings of God in all of this. Jeremiah (Jehovah will lift up) was a great ‘Twitcher’, you know, a bird watcher, fully aware of various types and habits of birds in Israel and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit was moved to take examples of their habits and apply them both to the actions of God and the people of God. In the spirit of Jeremiah the ancient Twitcher, we might say that Pelicans speak to us today and say, “Hey, don’t forget the gathering of yourselves together;” they say, “Make sure to surround yourself with the right kind of strong good company;” they say, “Two are better than one;” they say, “Follow me, even as I follow Christ.” I say to you then today folks, get to an assembly, find Godly friends and follow Christ in a ‘V’ for Victory formation. This is one of the ways Jesus makes light, His lovely yoke.
Listen:- Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
Pray: - Lord, grow us up that we may with Holy confidence speak as our brother Paul did in inviting others to follow us, as we in turn follow You dear Master. Teach us Your way O God, teach us Your way, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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