It was a beautiful morning for a walk, 55 degrees and sunny with the hope of an 80+ day. Putting the harness on my trusted companion, Toby and I began our stroll around the neighborhood. We made our usual stops at park for Toby to water the plants and attempt to make his additions to the landscape. Cleaning up after my canine friend, it was time to make our way home. I decided to go a different route in order to marvel at the creativity of my neighbors in architecting their landscapes. As I turned the corner and made my way down the block I noticed a female duck crouched down by a tree in one of my neighbor’s yard. Thinking it an odd place for a duck to be I kept walking only to notice that the duck had built a nest where she had laid an egg. Exposed, the location of this nest could not have been in a worse place. Situated in the causeway between the street and the sidewalk, it was susceptible to the hazards of children playing, foot traffic and lawn care. Without adequate cover, protection of the duckling from local predators would be virtually impossible. The closest water was the retention pond and it was blocks away. And food? You could forget about it. There was nothing of substance for this duck and her mallard, which was across the street 3 houses down, to sustain their lives on, let alone their soon to be born offspring. My heart went out to them. They appeared in distress or even despair. Dogs barking in the background, the scene was confusing. I saw them and immediately had compassion on them. Yet, there seemed to be nothing I could do. They had made a decision to build their nest in the wrong neighborhood.
Many of us do the exact same thing. We see what appears to be a life that appeals to us, and build our worlds around them. We take little note of the risk or cost that it will have on us or those around us. Instead, we drive for that ideal and when we get it we often realize that it is not what we thought it would be. Like the ducks, we discover that it lacks that which is vital for our lives, that which makes life worth living.
Jesus asked the question in Matthew 6:25, “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Not meant to be answered, even the worst of us will nod our heads in the affirmative. Yet, the real underlying question that Jesus wants us to answer is where are you building your nest? Where are you focusing your efforts? What is your passion in life? Where are you storing up your treasures? Many of us are bringing families into the world to pursue the things that this life has to offer. We believe because we have built our nest in a good neighborhood with white picket fences, that because we have afforded for our children the best that money could buy, directed them to opportunities that we never had, and given them more than our forefathers ever could have imagined that we have been great parents. After all, more is better, isn’t it? We have poured ourselves into this American Dream at what cost? Where is our protection? However, if we are honest with ourselves we will agree that we have been sold a bill of goods. The rat race we find ourselves in does not lead to the peace and happiness we thought it would. More is not better. We find it like that sickening amusement park ride and all we want to do is get off.
As I reflect on where I have built my nest, I am reminded of what Jesus said in Luke,
47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. Luke 6:47-48
It is so cliché to say “only what you do for Christ will last”. Yet, the real question in my mind is where are you building your nest?