This male chaffinch has something wrong with its right foot. I am not sure whether it is because of a birth defect, accident or disease. It is unable to perch at the bird-feeders in my garden so it has to depend on that which the other birds chuck out to get at the ones they prefer. There are some types of birdseed that are marketed as being “no mess.” That is, that there are none of the larger seeds like wheat which smaller birds that are able to use the feeders find too big and discard them. But if I bought such seed this chaffinch would find it more difficult to feed. On a previous post a couple of years ago I likened to the feeder as a source of spiritual food for Christians, i.e., the Word of God, The Bible. Also that those that just listened to Christian messages, whether in the local church or the media were effectively getting second-hand spiritual food. But some Christians find it difficult to read the Scriptures systematically for whatever reason. But how many churches would like a no mess form of Christianity? Where new believers behave perfectly, attending all the right meetings, develop good prayer habits, follow a good Bible-reading plan, etc. And, of course, never have an episode of back-sliding. The problem today is that many converts are coming from chaotic lifestyles and they bring their poor choices with them. There are also a lot more distractions with the rise of social media, gaming, and other online activities which previous generations did not have to deal with. So it would appear that the Church in general will have to develop strategies which allow for the expected inconsistencies of new believers without lowering the Biblical standards of our forefathers in the faith when it comes to the long-term aim of sanctification. To me it looks like Christianity if it is to recover its lost ground will have to accept that life is going to get messier.

David Rose