ROADKILL

I was driving on my way to work this morning and as I turned a corner, I saw a vulture sitting on the road eating. I like to play this game with vultures where I see how close I can get my car before it flies away (yes, sorry dad—I’ve still never hit one!). Usually when I get within a couple feet of the bird, it flies out of the way. This particular vulture did not move until it was seconds before it would have been hit. I had to slide over in the lane to avoid hitting it.

As I drove away, I couldn’t even see what the vulture was eating from the rearview mirror. Whatever was on the ground was so small that it seems insignificant to us. I wondered why it was worth it to that vulture to narrowly avoid being hit by a car and killed over such a small piece of food.

I think that is sometimes what sin looks like in our lives. We become like vultures feasting on what gives us pleasure or fulfills our desires, not worried about what impending danger lies ahead because of our decision to feast. Then, we narrowly escape, only to come back again to what almost finished us the first time.

Roadkill is not valuable to us, it is not something that we would risk our lives for. I wonder if that is how God views the things that we find so valuable on earth. The things that we replace Him for. The things that we spend our lives chasing after. He in all of His infinite wisdom and glory knows that there is better things ahead and better things for us to spend our lives pursuing, but once again we go back to what brings us immediate gratification, without always considering the cost.

We become so consumed with ourselves, how we want our life to look/turn out, chasing money, chasing affections of others, and we lose sight of what is actually valuable. We must shift our focus to our Creator and rest in the promise that He is our provider. We must believe that He is worth denying our sinful flesh for and that He is enough.  

In God’s kindness, He does not view us as vultures. He sees us as His beloved and chosen. He, knowing that we would act like vultures going back to roadkill, still found us worthy of forgiveness of sin and relationship with Him. If that is not something to rejoice in every day, I don’t know what is.