Coco Calling No.283 - When There’s Menace and Threat in the Air
Coco
4 hours ago
3 min read
A couple of signs have recently appeared in the kitchen where I reside. They’re not aimed at me; no, they’re clearly aimed at my owner, and it’s not difficult to work out who put them there. One reads: “My next husband will be normal” and the other says: “Studies suggest that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it.”
My owner doesn’t seem to be in the slightest bit perturbed; no, he just laughs them off. He knows deep down that his wife of 30 years still loves him, and he also has his Christian faith to fall back on. But these signs still serve as a reminder that we exist here on Earth under a veil of threat and menace. That’s how it is from the day we are hatched (or born), until the day that we die. Depending upon where we find ourselves living, we have to fend off things such as illness, hunger, insecurity and war. Or in the case of parrots, we have to deal with the threat of predators, habitat loss, bereavement and psittacosis. And the real art to living a happy life is learning how to exist when there’s so much bad stuff around. And what helps us more than anything else, is having a Christian faith.
There’s nothing worse than finding yourself taking on the world and believing that the world is all there is. Because then everything becomes far too heavy, as a certain Mr Atlas once discovered. Humans, like parrots, have been given enquiring minds. There are moments in our lives when we all need to stop, take a step back, and then open up our eyes, hearts and minds. Our world is far from perfect. Threats and menace exist all around because, for whatever reason, the world in which we live has been tarnished and spoilt. And yet, despite this, the handywork of our Master Creator is evident in almost every component of life around us. From the simplicity and minuteness of the smallest atom to the vastness and majesty of a snow-capped mountain; and from the beauty and brilliance of a parrot like me, through to the genius and complexity of an entire ecosystem. The miracle of life is our Creator’s handywork. So, when we look at the world around us, why shouldn’t we believe in the existence of Heaven; in the reality of a Saviour; and in our deliverance from all that is wrong with our world? That’s exactly what my owner tries to do, and why he finds those ‘warning signs’ so amusing!
“The Christian regards this world as a shadow compared to the world to come, and cares little for its praise or blame, its hatred or its rewards.” (J.C. Ryle: [1816 – 1900]: English Anglican Bishop and writer).
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
(Corrie ten Boon: [1892 – 1983]: Dutch Christian writer who survived internment in a Nazi concentration camp).
“Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ.”
(Sheila Walsh: [1956 – present]: Scottish born Christian songwriter, author and evangelist).
“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
