Humble Love

“Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:10-12

I love my Swarovski SLC 10-42WB binoculars. They give great, clear views even in low light. They are rugged, and though a tad heavy, are my constant companion in the field. But for my first twenty years of birding, they were just an expensive dream. I had to settle for low-end optics. Actually, I resisted spending even a hundred dollars on decent binoculars because I saw that as money I would rather spend someday on top of the line binoculars. That reality led to the surprising discovery that cheap optics made me a better birder.

My humble Swift Aerolite compact binoculars were handy, so they traveled well, even if they did little more than magnify a bird to aid identification. Because visual cues were not always the most reliable for me, I learned early on to use general impression, size, shape, sound, and behavior as the first tools to limit the possible identities of a bird. When I was with others, I was often the last to lift my binoculars, instead watching what the bird was doing, or listening intently for a sound. I learned to distinguish between the deep dipping of a finch in flight versus the more shallow dipping of woodpeckers. And when they were too high or too fast to see, I could always pick out the diagnostic “potato chip” flight call of the American Goldfinch. And those pesky woodpeckers clearly know to put the trunk between you and them anyway making identification by ear a necessity much of the time.

It is always tempting, dare I say natural, to want better and newer things that make our tasks easier, but there is a beauty to humble things that make them especially attractive. Certainly, when it comes to relationships, love is not based on performance or only earned through improvement. If that is the case, then what sort of relationship is it? The deepest, strongest love is a simple, humble love. Humble love is unconditional. Humble love is strong and sustaining. Humble love is the only kind we can show to the Almighty to whom we owe our very existence. Humble love is that same deity choosing to show up before us in a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Prayer: Emmanuel, riches and expensive gifts could never be enough, thank you for accepting what we can offer, our humble hearts. Amen.