Migration

Wild geese have an innate instinct to migrate. Once when I was watching a flock of geese fly overhead I thought that their instinct was like God’s instinct to bond with human beings, but I caught myself, thinking it was disrespectful to compare our
God to a flock of geese.

Then I read this from St. Augustine: “Your love must migrate: cast of your moorings from creatures, moor yourself to the Creator. Change your love, change your fear; the only things that make good or bad lives are good or bad loves.”(sermon no. 313A)

If the geese reminded me of our God, it must have been His very intention that they should, and perhaps I could take a lesson from the geese about a heart that migrates from the things of the world, to the things of God: Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water (from a well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) The astonishing gift of eternal life is the love gift of a bridegroom to His bride. It came from the heart of Jesus to the woman he met at a well. It was his to give, for it was the very reason he was born, so that all of our hearts could migrate to his Father’s heart.

The geese that fly in such beautiful precision don’t know why they come or go, but respond to earthly signals of temperature or length of daylight to gather and make their flights. But God has sent His Holy Spirit that we might recognize and respond to the very Creator of both the geese and ourselves, that our hearts might be able to migrate and to love an invisible God: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

This is how we know that we live in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. . . and so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. (1 John 4:13-18)

The geese are beautiful and I delight in seeing them in the spring and again in the fall. For thousands of years they have signaled the changing seasons, entirely without human direction. Most people have seen them with awe and pleasure, and some are reminded of our common Creator. I believe that God intends every part of nature to carry His signature, to help our love migrate to Him.

Love in Him,

Prue