Toiling...

I'm a lover of the great outdoors.  I've been hiking the hills and mountains since I was a child.  I hike for a number of reasons.  I love the quiet and privacy that being out in the middle of nowhere affords.  I like spending that time in fellowship with God and in contemplation of the things of life.  I like getting some exercise.  I like to explore, to see what's around the next turn. 

Recently I have been hiking in an area where there is a hawk nest along the way.  Each and every time I stroll by there, at least one of the hawks is in the air.  Usually both of them are.  It doesn't matter the time of day, evening, morning, or afternoon, there they are soaring above.  I presume they are looking for food and keeping an eye on their nest.  I'm amazed at how hard they work.

This appears to be the fate of most that live on this planet.  Virtually all life seems to be toiling to survive.  I know that's no revelation, but planet earth is a pretty rough place to eke out an existence.  Around every corner, and even up in the sky, there may be something hunting you and wanting to eat you, or in the case of man, maybe just to kill you for the fun of it.  You have to work diligently to get enough to eat, which often requires you killing other things.  Often times you have to come up with some sort of shelter as well.  Then there are the invisible killers like diseases, etc.  I guess it wasn't just Adam that was kicked out of the garden.  This is a planet that requires you to work very hard at surviving. 

The reason I mention all this is because on these very hikes that I often take, these very hikes where I observe the nature of life on this planet, I find myself asking God to help me to be more like Him.  His Word says that He is love...and if you live in love, you live in Him.  I'm asking that He help me to love like Him.  And then I remember another part of His Word.  It says that if you seek Him with your whole mind, heart, and soul, He will be found.  I look up at the hawks...and there they are seeking to survive with all their hearts and all the effort that goes into it.  I ask myself if I am striving that hard to be in God's presence...to love like He loves.