Sparrowhawk

There she was, apparently looking at me. Those large yellow eyes, the sharp beak. I kept still, before hastily retreating upstairs to fetch the camera. Sadly it proved useless, focussing on the glass rather than the large brown-feathered bird who stood just twelve feet away. She was a sparrowhawk and was feasting on one of my garden birds.

I always thought my backyard a safe haven from predators. Apart from cats (which will always find a point of entry) the two washing lines, the garden furniture and the overgrown bushes, all made it harder for larger-winged birds of prey, to swoop and land. Besides, my yard is but a small oasis of greenery in an old Victorian district, with concrete, tarmac and paving stones in abundance. Yet I got the warning sign last month- a covering of feathers over one of the borders. No mess, no remains- just that grey fluff. Now she had returned. I think it was a sparrow upon which she gorged, perhaps a blackbird. She was at it an hour: plucking, tugging, tearing. When I inspected the site afterwards, there was just a tiny skeleton, some legs and the usual feathers quivering in the breeze. The RSPCA is at pains to show that sparrowhawks do no harm to the overall songbird population; when their numbers declined in eastern England because of pesticide usage, songbird numbers failed to increase accordingly.

That little bird must have felt safe, but it was not. Those keen yellow eyes, those swift wings, that sharp, hooked beak, would catch it and devour it. Too many of us think that our vitamin pills, fitness routines, personal morality and general indifference are sufficient to both stave off death and any kind of judgment. The summons will be sent to us all. As Amos called out all those centuries ago:

“Prepare to meet thy God!” (4:12)

Whether you meet Him in your nineties or your teens, in a generation's time or the next three days- your slot before the Judge will come. The Christian’s sin is already punished and atoned for- he or she has no fear of the great white throne. Conversely, those who reject Him do not fear the coming judgement half as much as they ought.