DEVOTION WITH A CAPITAL ‘D’!

  ‘Hornbill Bird’ photo by Lip Kee Yap Singapore CC SA 2.0.

God is GOOD!  He has provided us with an abundance of metaphors about how we should live! The Hornbill bird pictured above is another metaphor that shows us what true devotion (with a capital D) looks like!  The male’s devotion to its mate is beyond inspirational!  When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she finds a hole in a tree or rock crevice and climbs in.
The male then begins bringing her chunks of mud in its bill which she uses to mostly seal the access hole to her nest while leaving only a small opening.  This is her way of protecting herself and her chicks from predators!  She lays up to seven eggs in her nesting chamber.
Her mate’s devotion doesn’t stop here!
He begins to feed her through that small hole in her nest every single day during the entire 23-96 days of the chick’s incubation period!!!
Now that’s the definition of devotion: love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause.  (New Oxford American Dictionary). 
These beautiful birds are native to Sub-Saharan Africa, the Solomon Islands and the Philippines. They have been in existence for over 2.5 million years and continue to tell us what devotion looks like.

My wife’s older sister recently passed away.  In the last few months of her life, she needed hospice care, a home providing care for the sick or terminally ill.  God spoke to her brother and his wife to care for her.  They brought her to their home and cared for her for the last 5 months of her life.  This again is what devotion looks like!!!

Hats off to Hospice workers, Nurses and other health care providers and especially to my wife’s brother and his wife who know and live the scriptures. 

They obeyed the Great Commandments!  They love God and their neighbor!   
‘Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Matthew 22:37-39.

They saw their sister in need and took action.
‘If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’  1John 3:17-18. 

They showed their great faith by their deeds!
‘Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.’  James 2:15-18.

They clothed themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience!
‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’  Colossians 3:12.

They did GOOD!
‘Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.’  1 Timothy 5:8.

‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’  Galatians 6:9-10.

They took a lesson from the Hornbill who exhibited ‘Devotion with a capital ‘D’.

LET US DO LIKEWISE!

Do yourself a huge favor and watch David Attenborough’s absolutely astounding video entitled, ‘Devoted hornbill couple turns nest into fortress’!  From Planet Earth lll – BBC.