ARE YOU CUCKOO? THINK ABOUT IT: Have you ever seen a cuckoo bird? This famous bird never builds its own nest. It flies around until it finds another nest with eggs in it. When a mother thrush bird isn't around the cuckoo bird quickly lands, lays its eggs there and flies away. The thrush, whose nest has been invaded isn't very good at math, so she doesnt' even notice the extra egg. She goes to work by keeping the eggs warm until they hatch. The result is four little thrushes and one larger baby cuckoo. In fact, the cuckoo is two or three times the size of the thrushes. When Mamma Thrush brings one large juicy worm to the nest, guess which one gets the worm? This adult thrush ends up feeding a baby cuckoo that is three times as big as it is. The growing cuckoo gets bigger and bigger and the little thrushes keep getting smaller and smaller. In fact, if you came upon this nest you could find dead little thrushes, which the cuckoo threw out one at a time. BEFORE READING TODAY'S SCRIPTURE, CAN YOU COME UP WITH A SPIRITUAL LESSON FROM THIS ILLUSTRATION? TAKE A LOOK: Romans 8:5-8 - (NLT) 5Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. In today's passage, Paul teaches us that spiritually speaking, we've got two natures in one nest. We have the old sinful nature (all we had before trusting Jesus as our Savior) and the new nature (who we are after Jesus comes into our lives). The nature that we feed will grow and the nature that we starve will shrink! WHICH NATURE ARE YOU FEEDING? Just like we need food and water to grow and be healthy, we need spiritual nourishment every day. It starts with a daily hunger for God's Word. It means letting Jesus quench our thirst every day. It requires a dependence on the Holy Spirit's power to say no to a worldy diet and yes to dining with Jesus. Ignoring the relationship that Jesus offers us every day is just plain cuckoo! TALK ABOUT IT: Thank Jesus that He never gives up on you, even when you ignore Him. Ask His Spirit for the faith and desire you need to fill up on His nourishment every day. Thank God that His power is enough to help you to grow in your new nature in Christ!
Courtesy of "Youth For Christ"
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