“神说：‘……要有雀鸟飞在地面以上，天空之中。’” – 创 1:20
大草原上的地平线绵延舒展，土地松软，对于任何一个在其中开阔的天空下长大的人来说，搬到城市后都可能会感到不适应。混凝土、高层建筑和不断的喧嚣会让人迷失方向。这就是我几十年前搬到不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华时的经历。虽然温哥华是一个美丽的城市，但一开始我对它并不熟悉，也不觉得亲切。我经常低着头走路，一心想知道如何与一个与家迥异的地方建立起新联系。
后来有一天，“你们看……飞鸟”这句话在我脑海中闪现，这对我来说成了一个不同寻常的意念。从我的角度来看，鸟类还算友好，但有好多鸟我甚至都叫不上名字。然而，我突然想起耶稣曾说过，“你们看……飞鸟”——我把它当作一个神圣的邀请，抬起双眼。当我开始观看时，我发现各种各样的鸟到处都是，每个季节都有——哪怕是在城市里。这极大地改变了我的视角。
也许你觉得离家很远，或者好像你不属于你现在所处的地方。神会邀请你抬起双眼，好使你注意到祂在你周围处境中的工作和祂在你生活中的供应。 你愿意来把鸟类作为神创造的重要组成部份来思想，并和我一起在祂面前战栗敬畏吗?
祷告
慈爱的神啊，求你帮助我们抬起双眼。愿我们留意到你奇妙的创造，你甚至把飞鸟设立在空中，每天提醒我们你奇妙的眷顾。阿们。
创世记 1:20-26
20神说：“水要多多滋生有生命的物，要有雀鸟飞在地面以上、天空之中。”
21神就造出大鱼和水中所滋生各样有生命的动物，各从其类；又造出各样飞鸟，各从其类。神看着是好的。
22神就赐福给这一切，说：“滋生繁多，充满海中的水，雀鸟也要多生在地上。”
23有晚上，有早晨，是第五日。
24神说：“地要生出活物来，各从其类；牲畜、昆虫、野兽，各从其类。”事就这样成了。
25于是神造出野兽，各从其类；牲畜，各从其类；地上一切昆虫，各从其类。神看着是好的。26神说：“我们要照着我们的形象，按着我们的样式造人，使他们管理海里的鱼、空中的鸟、地上的牲畜和全地，并地上所爬的一切昆虫。”
Learning To Pay Attention
“God said, ‘. . . Let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’” – Genesis 1:20
For anyone who has grown up under the wide-open skies of a prairie, where the horizons are far and wide and the ground is soft, it can be quite a shock to move to the city. The concrete, high-rises, and constant bustle can be disorienting. That was my experience a couple of decades ago when I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Though Vancouver is a beautiful city, it wasn’t familiar or welcoming to me at first. I often walked with a downward gaze, wondering how to connect with a place that didn’t feel like home.
Then one day the phrase “Look at the birds” entered my mind, and that was an unusual idea for me. From my perspective, birds were okay, but I didn’t know how to identify many of them. Yet I suddenly remembered that Jesus had said, “Look at the birds”—and I took it as a holy invitation to lift my eyes up. As I began paying attention, I saw that birds of all kinds were everywhere, in every season—even in the city! It shifted my perspective dramatically.
Perhaps you feel far from home, or as if you don’t belong in the place where you are now. Could God be inviting you to lift up your eyes so that you can take note of his work around you and his provisions in life? Will you join me in being filled with wonder as we reflect on birds as an important part of his creation?
Prayer
Loving God, help us to lift up our eyes. May we notice your marvelous creation, in which you have even placed birds in the sky as a daily reminder of your care. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
