Coco Calling No.205 - Greatest Gifts to the World

Parrots are extremely brainy, which is probably why I like to work on brilliant theories and fill my head with all kinds of facts and information. So I recently read a book about British inventions. And the humans in my adopted country have certainly come up with an impressive list of gadgets and products which form an everyday part of modern life. For example, there’s the thermos flask (Sir James Dewar 1892), the Worldwide Web (Tim Berners-Lee 1989), the lawnmower (Edwin Beard Budding 1827) and the television (John Logie Baird 1925). Or how about the light bulb (Joseph Swan 1880), the pneumatic tyre (John Boyd Dunlop 1887), the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell 1876) or the jet engine (Frank Whittle 1937)? I could name well over 50 of these wonderful inventions which have been Britain’s gift to the world.

And yet, the country that is my true ancestral home, -Senegal, - has given something to the world which completely outshines everything that I’ve listed so far. Yes, Senegal’s great gift to the world is…….. me! Senegal Parrots! Just imagine a world without us. It really wouldn’t be worth living! Our bright personalities; our beautiful feathers; our love and affection; those finishing touches that we make to all of the woodwork around our family homes. Yes, we really are quite something.

But before my head becomes too big for my shoulders, I have to admit that even I and my fellow kind are surpassed by something bigger and greater than we can ever be. And that particular gift comes not from any of the countries in our world but from Heaven. It’s God’s gift to us all in the form of Jesus. Because Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving, -even after 2000 years. He’s our Saviour, our safety net, our hope, our rescuer, our companion and our guide to eternal life in Heaven. And He openly offers us all of these gifts, irrespective of who we are or where we come from. So that makes Jesus the ultimate gift to the world, and we shouldn’t simply celebrate His birth on Christmas Day because He gives to us all on every single day of the year. And for that reason, Senegal Parrots are happy to be relegated to second spot on the list of greatest gifts to the world…

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16)

“…God so loved the world… He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.” (Corrie ten Boon: 1892-1983: Dutch-born Christian writer and survivor of WW2 concentration camp).