Taught by Turkeys 火鸡学堂

[Dexu Xia]

Taught by Turkeys

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26

Do you know what a group of turkeys is called? It’s called a rafter. Why am I writing about turkeys? Because I’ve just returned from a weekend at a mountain cabin. Each day, I marveled at the train of turkeys parading past our porch.

I’d never turkey-watched before. They scratched fiercely with spectacular talons. Then they hunted and pecked at the ground. Eating, I assume. (Since this was my first turkey-observation time, I wasn’t 100 percent positive.) The scrawny scrubs in the area didn’t look like they could sustain anything. Yet here were these turkeys, a dozen of them, all of which looked delectably plump.

Watching those well-fed turkeys brought to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Jesus uses God’s provision for seemingly worthless birds to remind us of His care for us. If a bird’s life matters, how much more does ours? Jesus then contrasts fretting about our daily needs (vv. 27–31) with a life in which we “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (v. 33), one in which we’re confident of His rich provision for our needs. Because if God can care for that rafter of wild turkeys, He can certainly look after you and me.

Where have you seen God provide for something that you were worrying about? How might remembering and reflecting on His provision in the past help you not to be anxious in the future?

Father, sometimes I get scared. I worry. I struggle to trust. Thank You for Your care for me. Help me to remember Your provision in the past so I’m better able to trust You with future fears.

火鸡学堂

你们看那天上的飞鸟，也不种，也不收，也不积蓄在仓里，你们的天父尚且养活它。—马太福音6章26节

你看过一大群火鸡吗？为何我会这么说呢？因为我刚在山中小屋度过一个周末。在山间的每一天，我都惊叹地看着那成排的火鸡，如游行队伍般经过小屋的门廊。

我以前从未仔细观察火鸡。但在那几天我发现到，它们会先以惊人的利爪用力扒土，寻觅一会儿之后再低头啄食。我猜，它们应该是在啄食，因为这是我第一次观察火鸡，所以不太能完全肯定。我住的那个地区仅有一些低矮的灌木丛，似乎不足以为这十几只火鸡提供充足的食物。然而，它们竟然每一只都看似相当肥胖丰满。

看着这些肥壮的火鸡，让我不禁想起马太福音6章26节，耶稣说：“你们看那天上的飞鸟，也不种，也不收，也不积蓄在仓里，你们的天父尚且养活它。你们不比飞鸟贵重得多吗？”耶稣提醒我们，上帝既看顾那微不足道的雀鸟，祂也必定会供应我们一切所需。如果祂顾念一只雀鸟的生命，那祂岂不更加看顾我们吗？随后，耶稣让我们看到两个鲜明的对比，一个是为生活所需而忧虑（27-31节）；另一个是“先求祂的国和祂的义”（33节），完全相信上帝会丰富供应我们的需求。上帝既顾念那一大群野火鸡，祂必定也会看顾你和我。

当你为某事感到愁烦，上帝如何帮助你？
思想过去上帝的供应，如何帮助你不再为将来而忧虑？

天父，有时我会害怕、担忧而难以信靠祢。
求祢让我回想祢过去的供应，
并献上感谢，我要把对未来的恐惧全交给祢。