According to Bill, who wrote us about the birds at his backyard feeder: Heaven is going to be full of little brown birds. “I am avid about backyard birds,” he wrote, “and have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to feed the cardinals and blue jays, without attracting all the house finches and sparrows. One day I realized that I am one of the little brown birds in God’s human flock and that changed my attitude. I now thoroughly enjoy feeding all of the birds that show up in my yard.”
This is a great metaphor for what we so often get wrong about the gospel. We say the gospel is for everybody, but we don’t necessarily mean it. We like to associate with pretty people, upwardly mobile people – attractive types who give a good face on what we believe. We also like to associate with people who are like us — people of the same race, same economic status, same political beliefs, who send their kids to the same schools. We gravitate towards sameness and find comfort in the familiar.
But the gospel of Jesus Christ is big and wide and messy. It is for everyone, even people we don’t like. It is for those on both sides of the tracks — those we admire and those we would rather not associate with.
Most of all it is for sinners like us, and that’s where we have to get our thinking straightened out. Sin is what we all have in common.
Remember the parable Jesus told about the kingdom of heaven being like a rich man who threw a wedding banquet, but the invited guests all had excuses why they couldn’t come? So the master said to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.” (Matthew 22:8-9)
Everyone you see? There is no discrimination here. That’s a pretty daring and dangerous proposition. No telling what kind of vermin such an open-ended invitation might turn up! And I’m sure it has done so, because, lo and behold, it turned up Bill … and me.
The spreading of the gospel and the growing of the church is very much like Bill’s experience with his backyard birds. Put the message out and welcome all who come to feed, especially the little brown birds. According to Jesus, they are worthy of the honor.
John Fischer The Catch 
Another very good Catch Pastor John, which I thank you for it…
I find the idea of wanting to discriminate between the birds we feed to be interesting. I mean, how do you keep squirrels and chipmunks from eating your bird feed, let alone pick and choose the types of birds? God created all these creatures. If we try to pick and choose which birds we feed, we may miss the opportunity to see the hawks and eagles, as well as the very rare and unusually colored birds that only show up occasionally. In other words, we miss the big blessings by trying to pick and choose among the little ones.
Kind of like CS Lewis’ analogy between making mud pies in the gutter, as compare to a trip to the beach. We try to control our little world, and thereby miss His greater one.
God is so much bigger than we. We just need to let Him be God and we just enjoy all that He brings our way. Thanks for this story.
Well said Waitsel 🙂
Beautiful John! Oh that hearts were more like His, open to loving all. I think the only way to be able to really be happy with the brown birds is to spend time in the garden keepers presence. Only than does our heart grow and open.
That is beautiful, John, and this is coming from a little brown bird myself.
and me
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this,
like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little
bit, but other than that, this is excellent blog. A fantastic read.
I will definitely be back.