Free Lessons for Children's Ministry Leaders

People of all ages and walks of life are fascinated with hummingbirds. There is something about the tiny bug sized birds that generates interest and almost paternal concern. I have several feeders in my yard. I watch anxiously every year for their arrival.

The bee hummingbird weighs less than a dime. Even the middleweight varieties weigh less than a nickel.

God gave these amazing little birds sword like bills and elongated tongues. I was amazed to watch them. Although they can snap up tiny bugs with their tongue, they are best known for sipping sweet nectar from flowers.

Hummingbirds are definitely little, but sweet is an incorrect description. I watched the emerald patch glisten in the sunlight as the hummingbird sat on a naked branch watching the red feeder below. It was almost filled with sweet, nourishing liquid. As soon as another hummingbird approached the feeder, the emerald patch exploded toward the approaching bird like a bomber pilot. The persistent little bird refused to stop until it had chased the invader almost out of sight. It�s hard to believe such a loud racket could come from such a little bird. Didn�t the bird know that there was plenty for everyone? Didn�t he realize the master of the house waited on the porch to refill the sweet liquid when the source ran low? There was more where that came from. The tiny hummingbird didn�t have to aggressively run off everyone that came near the feeder.

I understand hummingbirds are extremely territorial. It is their way of protecting their territory and their food source. They just don�t know any better.

But we should know better. Often we look like hummingbirds trying to grasp everything we get so tightly in our hands. Yet when we recognize God as the giver of all we need, it causes us to become a giver instead of the greedy grasper that is part of the fallen nature. We understand that God is our source and we want to share it with others.

Hummingbirds are little, but they are not sweet. Tom Wood in Smithsonian magazine says, �We�re probably lucky these things aren�t the size of ravens, or it would not be safe to walk in the woods.� It is amazing something that drinks such sweetness from something as beautiful as flowers could be so hostile. But selfishness does the same thing to believers. We can enjoy sweet things from the hand of a loving Father and still be selfish. I believe selfishness is something we take off as an act of our will. Caring for the needs of others becomes a habit that we develop instead of one that comes instantly.

Three small words

that can never

be said too often:

I love you!