The Gospel According To Ducks

Last week I wrote about ‘ducks in a row’ and ‘ducks out of line’…

Musing… How does this relate to my faith?… Here’s my brief ‘Gospel according to ducks’:

1. God – too many ducks to line up!

My faith starts with a God who’s beyond understanding – omnipotent, omnipresent, immortal, invisible…

Man tries to limit God to a single set of beliefs, a God who’s restricted to certain places… who’s worshiped in set ways… who works in predictable ways…

God can’t be reduce to a finite number of ducks that can be arranged in a convenient line.  

• God’s creation – many ducks in a row

This God creates a vast universe, and our world… controlled by scientific laws of physics and chemistry that can be analysed and rationalised… ducks in a row.

God makes life… humans… more science – biology, physiology, medicine… discernible, predictable… more lined-up ducks.

God gives clear instructions regarding man’s behaviour – the 10 commandments – don’t steal, murder, lie… Jesus clarifies – love God, love your neighbour… behavioural ducks in a row.  

• Man – ducks out of line

It’s human nature to step out of line. The Bible narrative describes men who lie, cheat, steal, take their neighbour’s wife, murder… Throughout history the famous, the infamous, the ordinary, the anonymous follow on… ducks out of line

Today we may be fortunate and find other ducks that we like and attempt a form of alignment… but our selfishness, fear, greed, pride makes our line imperfect.

• Jesus – out of line ducks are welcome

And then there’s Jesus, making clear God’s heart… He goes out of his way to find the different, the misfit, the failure, the ‘other’, the misaligned duck… who discovers that they’re wanted, accepted, welcome and loved   

• Faith – joining a new line of ducks

Musing, I re-visit the old, old story… understanding that I’m an out of line duck, By faith I realign myself, and join with other waddlers following the parent duck who knows where he’s leading.