The Real Feeding Miracle
Mark
Patrick Edwards
Mark 6:6b-7:23
Introduction
As you no doubt have been able to tell over the last six months, I am by no means an outdoorsman. I love being outside; I love hiking and being in the woods. It's February and I'm getting the itch for spring and summer to come to get outside again soon. But hunting and fishing has never been my thing. Nothing against it, just have no interest.
It's amused God, therefore, to have my pastor in some rural locations throughout my career at churches filled with hunters. I could tell you every year what weekend bow-hunting season began, which Sunday was youth hunting day (not hunting youth, but youth-only hunting); I could tell you when rifle season finally began, because we might as well have closed the church on those Sundays or held a women's retreat because the men were gone. I've been invited many times to go hunting and have always politely declined. But nevertheless, I would enjoy hearing stories and learning about it. I can appreciate the skill it takes to become good at anything.
One of the things I've learned about deer hunting, though, is that deer don't sweat. Like a dog, they cool their bodies through their mouths. And this is important to predators of the deer, because when they breathe, particularly when they pant, they give off an odor that allows the predator to track them more easily. It's almost a bit unfair in that when a predator is chasing down the deer, like let's say a hunting dog, the deer pants from running away, but the more the deer pants the more it gives off its odor and, thus, location.
There is a solution, however, and that is for the deer to drink water. You see, I'm told, drinking not only rehydrates the deer, obviously, but then allows the deer to mask, or hide, its odor. In other words, water is not just the deer's source of nourishment, but is its refuge and safety. Consider then, the words of the psalmist,
As a deer pants for flowing stre ...
Mark
Patrick Edwards
Mark 6:6b-7:23
Introduction
As you no doubt have been able to tell over the last six months, I am by no means an outdoorsman. I love being outside; I love hiking and being in the woods. It's February and I'm getting the itch for spring and summer to come to get outside again soon. But hunting and fishing has never been my thing. Nothing against it, just have no interest.
It's amused God, therefore, to have my pastor in some rural locations throughout my career at churches filled with hunters. I could tell you every year what weekend bow-hunting season began, which Sunday was youth hunting day (not hunting youth, but youth-only hunting); I could tell you when rifle season finally began, because we might as well have closed the church on those Sundays or held a women's retreat because the men were gone. I've been invited many times to go hunting and have always politely declined. But nevertheless, I would enjoy hearing stories and learning about it. I can appreciate the skill it takes to become good at anything.
One of the things I've learned about deer hunting, though, is that deer don't sweat. Like a dog, they cool their bodies through their mouths. And this is important to predators of the deer, because when they breathe, particularly when they pant, they give off an odor that allows the predator to track them more easily. It's almost a bit unfair in that when a predator is chasing down the deer, like let's say a hunting dog, the deer pants from running away, but the more the deer pants the more it gives off its odor and, thus, location.
There is a solution, however, and that is for the deer to drink water. You see, I'm told, drinking not only rehydrates the deer, obviously, but then allows the deer to mask, or hide, its odor. In other words, water is not just the deer's source of nourishment, but is its refuge and safety. Consider then, the words of the psalmist,
As a deer pants for flowing stre ...
There are 22652 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
