Last week we learned about the big red kangaroo. But how do these big animals begin life? Amazingly, they begin life as the smallest babies born to a mammal compared to its mother. The red kangaroo mother is 100,000 times larger than her baby.
A baby kangaroo is called a joey. Born after only 28 to 33 days of pregnancy, it is about the size of a jelly bean, and it is blind, deaf and hairless. Amazingly, as soon as it is born, the tiny creature begins to crawl along its mother up to a special pouch in her belly. Once safely in the pouch, it quickly finds its mother’s milk. Joeys live in this pouch from four months to well over a year, depending on the species.
The mother’s pouch has been perfectly designed by our wise Creator to meet the needs of the tiny joey. The pouch is nearly hairless, and the skin-to-skin contact keeps it warm. Its mother produces milk in this pouch for the joey that changes as it grows, with just the right nutrients to meet its needs at each stage of its growth. The pouch has strong muscles and ligaments that she can tighten to keep the joey safely inside while she jumps, and even if it is tipped nearly upside down while the mother eats. Sweat glands line the pouch that produce anti-microbial liquids to keep the joey safe from viruses, bacteria and parasites. And this special pouch stretches as the joey grows.
After about five months, the red kangaroo joey looks out on the world for the first time. A month later it clambers out and explores for a few seconds, then goes back inside the pouch. Its explorations gradually get longer and by the time it is eight months old, the mother doesn’t let it back in. He has grown enough to live outside, though he may still nurse for a year and a half. By this time, the mother may have another joey in her pouch, but she can produce two kinds of milk at the same time so each baby gets the milk it needs.
The amazing kangaroo pouch reminds me of our opening verse, where we learn that God has given to Christians everything we need to live a life of holiness in a world that is very unholy. It is through the knowledge of God that we get what we need. Do you know where we get the true knowledge of God? It is through reading the Bible. Just as a little joey drinks the milk its mother produces, so we are told we are to long for the pure milk of the Word of God so we will grow. (See 1 Peter 2:22As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1 Peter 2:2).) Have you read your Bible today?
Did You Know?
The red kangaroo mother is 100,000 times larger than her baby when it is first born.
Messages of God’s Love 6/16/2024