Good morning…
As I touch on the “Past Blog Posts” button below to review the wisdom woven around us this week, “nest” is the word filling my mind.
As a noun, a “nest” is a pocketlike, circular structure of twigs, grass, and mud formed by a bird, often high in a tree, providing a protected place in which to incubate its eggs and rear its young. Transferred to our human experience, a “nest” is a snug retreat, a nurturing refuge, a cozy resting place.
As a verb, to “nest” means to build a nest, to settle into safety, or to fit together, one within another. This final definition reminds me of my favorite Bible verse from this week. Jesus shares a life-altering revelation: “On that day you will realize that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20, NIV). Amid times of turmoil, torment, and turbulence, generation after generation our Creator coaxes us each close: “Be nesting in Me as I am nesting in you.”
Synonyms for “nest” amplify God’s intimate invitation. “Bunk.” “Dwell.” “Abide.” “Remain.” “Settle in and stay put.” “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me” (John 15:4, MSG).
As we savor this Sabbath day of rest, we nestle into the Source of endless love incubating in John 15:9 (MSG): “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.” Let’s “nest” now and forever in the welcoming home of God’s expansive love, fitting together, one within another.
…Sue…
P.S. If you look closely at the picture taken from our home this week, you will see the silhouette of a “nest” tucked safely in the branches of the tree on the right.
