Someone once asked me what my favourite biblical passage featuring birds was, and, after some reflection, I chose Job chapter 28.
In this chapter Job talks about humankind's insatiable curiosity in regard to the planet we live on. "Man puts an end to darkness and searches every recess" in his quest to uncover the treasures that lie deep beneath the earth's surface. "That path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eye seen it."
I love the beauty and grandeur of nature, and few things give me as much pleasure as interacting in some way with this awesomely crafted environment in which we live. Like the men mining for silver, gold and precious gems in Job 28, I love to spend time searching for the gems of nature - from the magnificient vista of a dawn sky to the exquisite beauty-in-miniature of dewdrops on a grass stem.
But Job mentions another quest that we are all involved in in this same chapter; the quest for wisdom. Without wisdom we are all left ultimately clutching at straws. Even the beauty of Creation leaves us empty unless it leads us to seek meaning. Job asks, "Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" For me, that quest has become the overarching one. It is a quest that has required me to 'dig deep', just like those goldminers, and it has led me to the greatest of all treasures.
So I hope these thoughts and pictures will encourage you too to "dig deep". Oh, and by the way, Job found the answer to his questions; you'll have to read to the end of chapter 28 to find out what it is!
In this chapter Job talks about humankind's insatiable curiosity in regard to the planet we live on. "Man puts an end to darkness and searches every recess" in his quest to uncover the treasures that lie deep beneath the earth's surface. "That path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eye seen it."
I love the beauty and grandeur of nature, and few things give me as much pleasure as interacting in some way with this awesomely crafted environment in which we live. Like the men mining for silver, gold and precious gems in Job 28, I love to spend time searching for the gems of nature - from the magnificient vista of a dawn sky to the exquisite beauty-in-miniature of dewdrops on a grass stem.
But Job mentions another quest that we are all involved in in this same chapter; the quest for wisdom. Without wisdom we are all left ultimately clutching at straws. Even the beauty of Creation leaves us empty unless it leads us to seek meaning. Job asks, "Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" For me, that quest has become the overarching one. It is a quest that has required me to 'dig deep', just like those goldminers, and it has led me to the greatest of all treasures.
So I hope these thoughts and pictures will encourage you too to "dig deep". Oh, and by the way, Job found the answer to his questions; you'll have to read to the end of chapter 28 to find out what it is!
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