Autumn
Have you noticed how the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn red, or brown, or yellow? The winds are getting chilly, and the evenings are getting duller. There is also a great twittering and noise amongst the birds around our houses and gardens. The swallows especially are saying goodbye to us. They gather by hundreds and sit on roofs and telegraph wires, waiting for the signal to start their journey southward. It is mysterious how they know when to move on, and yet, they do. They leave their mud nests under the eves, but they will be back next spring. They fly to far-off places; some to the south of France, others to Spain and North Africa; much warmer places than Britain in the wintertime.
There are three birds which look very alike in the air; they are the Swift, the Martin, and the Swallow. But if you are looking out especially for the swallow you will know him by his long forked tail and the chestnut colour on his throat. By October they will all be gone. God has given them the instinct to find their way without books or maps or compasses. And He will guide them back from thousands of miles to the same spot in our country once the Springtime has come again. When you think of all the hazards and dangers and difficulties that must face these little birds, and yet, we know that their lives are guided by God. They are not forgotten by God.
How do we know that? Well, God says so in His Word, the Bible. This is what we read in Luke chapter 12 verse 6; "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God." If God says that about the common little sparrow, then surely the swallows are not forgotten, and much more, we are not forgotten by God. In the very next verse of Luke chapter 12 we are told, "... even the very hairs of your head are numbered."
Isn't that wonderful, boys and girls. Although we are so sinful - for the Bible says we are all sinners in God's eyes - yet God in His love did not forget about us and simply leave us in our sin. He sent Jesus into the world to die on the cross to save us from our sin, for here is what the Bible says, "This is a faithful saying ... that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." God has not forgotten us. I trust that each and every one of us will not forget Him.