Faithful as a Buzzard

The town of Hinckley Ohio has a unique claim to fame. Every year on March 15 flocks of buzzards also called turkey vultures return to this town 30 miles south of Cleveland. The buzzards have been returning to the area for at least 200 years. The town began a celebration of their return in 1957. How can these scavengers know every year to return to Hinckley Ohio precisely on March 15? Their faithfulness must be instinctive and passed on to succeeding generations of baby buzzards.

We can learn an important lesson on faithfulness from these simple creatures. We who know the Lord as our Savior are also called His servants or His stewards. In 1 Corinthians 4:1,2 we are told: “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. When we evaluate our service for the Lord the overall requirement God instills in us is to be faithful at what we do for Him. The verse doesn’t say we are required to be successful or skilled or persuasive. Showing up every day and saying: “Lord, here am I” is what God asks of us.

We must be faithful in our service for the Lord. We may not possess the gifts and talents that another believer has but we can show up every day and offer our faithful service to the Lord. We must be faithful to our spouse as well. Marriage is for the long haul and a life of faithfulness is a beautiful and precious treasure in the eyes of the Lord. We must be faithful to our church. Being in the house of God each Sunday is a testimony to the world and other believers.

Jesus told a parable about a landowner who was evaluating his servants. The parable relates to our Lord’s evaluation of us and our service to Him. One day, I too, long to hear those words in Matthew 25:21: “…well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord”. Faithfulness is instinctive to the buzzards, it is required in a child of God.