Regard me Kindly

Mr. Blue Jay looking at me (photo: Craig Sabin)

Regard me kindly, if you will,
I’m somewhat worse for wear, but still
I’m getting by the best I can,
And trusting in my Maker’s plan.

The circumstances of this life,
Including all the pain and strife,
Are used as instruments of grace,
That we might show His blessed Face.

Our outward beauty’s just for show,
It disappears before we know,
What really counts is what’s within –
A peaceful heart reflecting Him.

So suffer not the mirror’s woes,
And worry not for outward shows.
Adorn yourself with kindly love,
And show forth beauty from above.

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“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”

Proverbs, Chapter 27, verse 19

This blue jay was at the tail end of his molt. You can tell by the absence of his crest, which seems to be the last thing to recover. They always act shy and try to stay out of sight while they are molting (I’ve observed the same thing about cardinals). I caught this guy off guard perched right outside my window beneath the branches of our dogwood tree. It seemed like he saw me, was a bit ashamed, and gave me a trepidacious look as if to say, “Are you going to think less of me?” No Mr. Blue Jay, my regard for you is one of kindness and understanding. We have much in common, you and I.

These bodies of ours are like spring flowers that quickly wilt and fade away. The heart is what matters, and what a gracious ministration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His blessed Spirit that, regardless of our past, when we come to Him in faith He takes our vile, wicked hearts and gives us a new heart, capable of growing into His likeness and reflecting His kindness and beauty.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

Proverbs, Chapter 17, verse 9

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

2nd Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 17

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

2nd Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 3, verse 18

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Mr. Blue Jay’s looking a bit ragged (photos: Craig Sabin)

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