Hi Everyone

As you may or may not have noticed, our weekly Cross Current mailings have been missing for about three months. That’s because we’ve been having persistent and inexplicable problems with our server and, second, our Address Book crashed completely and erased every single entry! Over the last several weeks, we’ve been trying to rebuild our contact list but it’s still very incomplete. If you know of someone who was getting Cross Current because of a referral from you, please let us know and we’ll make sure they’re back on the list.

I’m sending along some back issues. But this is also a good time to remind you that if, for whatever reason, you’d prefer not to receive the weekly newsletter — or we’ve added you by mistake — all you need do is let us know and we’ll unsubscribe you immediately. And please don’t be afraid of hurting my feelings! Also, if you have suggestions for improving the column, feel free to share them.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of sharing my weekly ramblings. I pray that you’ll be able to find something helpful from time to time. May the Lord touch your life with his lavish and unlimited blessings and have a joyous Christmas!

Love always,

Rick

In western thought, the species is synonymous with death, decay and the exploitation of the weak. So it may come as a shock to learn that ancient civilisations revered the bird. In early Egypt, for example, one of the most powerful goddesses was the vulture goddess, Mut, whose name means mother. Her worshippers believed she brought everything into existence. In fact, the vulture was the symbol of motherhood because of its protective wings and devotion to its young.

In the Bible, the Hebrew word nesher is usually translated eagle, but the actual English translation is vulture. So, in Exodus 19:4, God says, “I carried you on wings of vultures and brought you to me.” The famous passage from Isaiah 40 becomes, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth... Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like vultures.” (vv. 28-31) None of this is surprising when we remember the ancients had noticed the vulture’s rare ability to swoop effortlessly in the sky for hours without moving a wing, simply by letting warm pockets of air lift and carry it.

Among native tribes in North America, the vulture was given a place of honour on ceremonial totems because it represented an untainted spirit and strength for adversity. Despite the bird’s revolting diet, the vulture flew in clean air and bathed in fresh water so it was thought to have a pure heart. Even today, lovers in parts of east Africa are affectionately called vultures because the birds mate for life andhave an incredibly strong bond with their offspring.

Though many find the vulture’s bald head ugly, it’s ideally suited to plunge into carcasses and stay free of disease because there are no feathers to trap and hold bacteria. The bird’s stomach containing a hundred times the botulism of a human one, so it can act as nature’s caretaker, ridding the world of rotting flesh, maggots and viruses such as cholera and anthrax. While those who don’t understand sneer, the vulture lives out its noble and necessary purpose.

And so it is with those who are the spiritual equivalent of vultures. God has placed his people in what is often a dark, decaying world to clean up as best we can. Not in a way that’s harsh and holier-than-thou, but with a humble yet powerful and unapologetic approach that simply recognizes sin and self-centredness take a devastating toll. Many people are spiritually dead — separated from God, either by design or ignorance — and we need to ensure the resulting decay doesn’t poison the world we live in.

After all, Christians were never meant ot stay at a safe and lofty distance from reality, especially since God can use our service to help raise the spiritually dead to a new life. Sometimes we need to plunge headfirst into someone’s pain and emotional putrefaction to show them the love both we and Jesus have for them. It’s not pretty and it’s far from pleasant but God has designed us to keep our heads free of contamination if our thinking remains centred on him.

With the right values and priorities, we can stomach anything that comes our way, digest the hard lessons of life and work to prevent the full effects of sin from spreading. Part of our purpose is to take care of this world by being vigilant, vocal and involved.

As servants of God, we’re called to be loving, protective and faithful. In return, He gives us the ability to soar above the world, lifted by the current of his lavish care and limitless concern. It’s not our own strength that keeps us aloft but a reliance on the power that comes from him. Even in those times when we find ourselves in the very real presence of spiritual death and decay, we’re renewed by the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit and the clear, clean river of his love, the living water. It is possible to keep a pure heart, if that’s what we want.

By Rick Gamble. Published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. To subscribe to this free weekly article, send a note to Rick at sgamble@bfree.on.ca