Vultures are a common sight in South Florida. I’d seen them in other places but their activity here is much more evident. They don’t seem to care what’s going on around them if there’s prey to be consumed. Most birds are rousted with just a little movement in their direction but not these big Black and Turkey Vultures that cruise around here. Sometimes you don’t notice them perched in a tree or gliding around above us. But when you do see them the feeling is that they’re just waiting…waiting for prey. Sitting—or gliding—as they wait for an opportunity, an opportunity to secure their next meal. When they do find it they’re relentless in their efforts. Swooping down and pouncing on the dead or immobilized victim. They’re attracted by the smell of death, and they’ll fight each other to secure their meal. And it’s gruesome to watch. I’ve seen a bevy of them—maybe ten or twenty—anxiously dispose of a dead armadillo right next to a busy road;  fighting each other in their destructive process of consumption. However, it can also be said that there is some benefit to be derived from these actions. The rotting flesh is removed for the most part and any residual effects will probably vanish with the next rain. And, less we forget, these creatures are just that: a creation of our God and Savior.

So what’s to be gained from this encounter with death and its aftermath? Perhaps there’s something more than an aromatic freshening of the environment to be had in our encounter with the vultures. An interesting thing about our Creator God is His ability to engage in actions that have a multiplicity of purpose and effect. He creates things that not only do something, but also represent something. The modern world thinks that things are the way they are because a process of—dare I say it—evolution has produced what works best for the function of our reality. The vulture evolved into a carnivorous bird with significant abilities of smell in order to counteract the effects of death on the environment. However, our Lord is much more creative than an evolving environment. His efforts provide a glimpse into His desire to communicate the truth of our existence that is more profound than happenstance. Having said this, consider the Apostle Peter’s take on our existence:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:6-8)

This admonition reflects an understanding of our existence that is not only supernatural; it also reflects an understanding of the immediacy of the supernatural that pertains to our lives. Peter used the image of a carnivorous roaring lion to denote an evil power that can bear upon us. Lions prowl and then when they find prey they pounce. In like manner vultures present significant behavior as they cruise and wait for an opportunity to take advantage of creatures that are unable to sustain themselves or are already dead. The point to be made is the same: the world is informed and, to a certain extent, animated by an evil presence, a presence that we need to be aware of, and on guard for; so that we don’t fall victim to its efforts. I’ve said this before in a variety of ways: we need to watch what we’re doing! Pay attention! It’s interesting that the word for “alert” used by Peter, is the same word used by Paul when he admonished the Thessalonians to maintain a posture of alertness as they waited for the Lord’s return:

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they were saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pain upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you brethren are not of the darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness: so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)

It’s interesting to note that the Greek word for alert is gregoreo and the Gregorian chant style of worship that emerged in the Middle Ages was in keeping with the biblical admonition to maintain an alert posture, which for the medieval monks often included midnight vigils; vigils that fulfilled the biblical challenge to “pray without ceasing” and worked to maintain a posture that was informed by the light, rather than succumbing to the darkness of unbelief.

Along with the behavior exhibited by the vulture and the lion is the presence of other creatures that are more subtle in the way in which they function within our environment. A tropical environment such as ours is somewhat inundated with insects of various kinds. Insects are evident and active in other climates but their activity is subdued in the winter months, but in the tropical South they’re always active. Here it’s necessary to be much more vigilant in cleaning up after a meal. Crumbs left over, if left unattended can result in the presence of sugar ants or large cockroaches commonly referred to a palmetto bugs. Their presence and their behavior can be viewed as another expression of living in a fallen world. Like the vultures and the lions these insects seek an opportunity to consume what is made available to them. They may not be as dangerous as lions and vultures but they still work against our wellbeing providing another illustration of how a fallen world can affect us if we’re not paying attention. They illustrate the fact that we’ve got both an enemy and an environment that work against us. This adversity can work within us, within the realm of our own minds, and all around us in a world informed by the darkness.

As we consider these circumstances of adversity, a question that might be asked is: Why does the Lord allow this threatening behavior to be imposed on us? Why doesn’t He enable us to counteract the power of our adversaries and be rid of them once and for all? Instead of just watching out for the efforts of the vultures and the bugs, why can’t we annihilate them, and what they represent, by the power of the Holy Spirit? I don’t have a complete answer! What I do know is that pain and suffering are part of the process for achieving spiritual maturity. Some obviously suffer far more than others. Depending on where you are and who you are, the suffering that’s experienced can be horrific or virtually nonexistent. And even that needs the caveat that some end up suffering even though they have all the resources at their disposal to prevent it. What is made obvious in Scripture is that suffering is part of the process for becoming mature Christians who reflect the nature of God as Love. And suffering is often the means for getting the attention of those who might otherwise remain beyond the reach of the truth that the Gospel presents. The quote from 1 Peter above is followed by this admonition regarding the devil and his roaring:

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5:9-10)

This suggests that suffering can be a means of validating the truth and establishing us as mature Christians. In that sense suffering can be a good thing ultimately. Consider what the writer of Hebrews tells us in this regard:

            Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnessed surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECIEVES.” (Hebrews 12:1-6)

So how are we going to act? Are we going to operate in an unconscious manner as so many do in this world? Or are we going to watch what we’re doing? Are we going to listen to what the Lord is telling us in His Word, chewing on it, digesting it, deriving our sustenance from it, and applying it? Or are we going to sample it at our leisure, alternately listening and ignoring it? If we’re seeking the Lord with earnest then chances are that we’ll be challenged in any number of ways depending, perhaps, on how much we’re paying attention. The thing that we must do is WATCH WHAT WE’RE DOING! Having a good time inside and outside of Church isn’t wrong, but is it getting us where we want to go? And where do we want to go? Is it just relief from the threat of death? Or is it becoming absorbed in the Lord’s agenda? Do we know the Lord? Or do we know about Him? Suffering can be an opportunity to answer such questions. God loves us and doesn’t spare the rod if it gets the job done. If we’re suffering in our lives—and everyone does at some point—then instead of just seeking to alleviate the pain we need to seek the Lord and gain what we can in the process. From that perspective we can see the benefits to be gained from our encounter with the predators that prowl and circle, and lurk around us. They become the means for challenging us to become more and more like Jesus. Carrying the analogy one step further, the evidence of death that clings to us in our immaturity works to attract the predators who seek to take advantage of our weaknesses, but for the mature our adversities can become the means whereby we not only seek the Lord for relief but also prompt us to gain in our understanding of Him and to become more and more conformed to His likeness. In that sense the circling vultures are the means of removing the dead and decaying old self, in order for the new self to be established! (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Halleluiah!

Go with God!