Dear Children,
I want to tell you what Gramma and I saw this morning. We watched a mother blue jay and one of her babies fly in and land on one of our bird feeders.
The baby sat there with its feathers all fluffed out and its little beak wide open. It was waiting for its mother to put some food into its mouth. The mother bird would eat some seed for herself, then put some into the baby’s mouth. This went on for about five minutes. Then they both flew away.
In a very short time, Mother and Baby were back again for more seed. But this time Mother did not feed her baby, even though Baby sat there with its beak wide open, ruffling its little feathers. Mother blue jay acted as though Baby wasn’t even there.
Gramma and I thought this was very strange for Mother not to feed her baby! Then they flew away.
Again, in a very short time, they both returned. It was this third time that Gramma and I realized what Mother blue jay was doing. Children, have you guessed what Mother blue jay was doing?
I hear one of you say, “Grampa, she is teaching Baby blue jay to feed itself.”
You are right!
Again, even though Baby ruffled its feathers and opened its beak, Mother still did not feed it. Then, all of a sudden, Baby realized, If I am going to get something to eat, then I must feed myself!
Right then and there, Baby learned how to feed itself. CHEERS! We watched both Mother and Baby feed themselves to the full, and then they flew away back into the trees.
Yes, they often came back to the feeder, along with others. One morning Gramma and I counted eleven of them!
Dear children, each Sunday your Sunday school teacher reads to you from God’s Word, the holy Bible. Your teacher explains to you how you can have your sins forgiven and be ready for heaven. Like Mother blue jay teaching her baby, your teacher can tell you all about God’s way to heaven, but it is up to you to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for yourself. Someone asked long ago, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
We sometimes sing this song:
A little child of seven,
Or even three or four,
May enter into heaven
Through Christ the open Door.
Bye, bye for now!
Love from Gramma and Grampa
ML-10/05/2003