Uninvited Visitor

 

Photo by Nature's Pic's 2006

I was working at my desk one morning when I heard an insistent hammering on the roof, so loud that I at first thought a burglar was trying to break in! Then I realized how strange it would be to choose the roof as an entry point, given numerous sliding glass doors in our house.

I was then reminded of a scam I had read about many years ago, where “roofers” who “happened to be in the area” offered free “inspections” to unsuspecting seniors. The con men would then actually damage the roof, claim the leaks were pre-existing, and extort vast sums of money for the “repair.”

But before I got too far down the rabbit hole of speculation, I called to my husband Richard: “What is that ungodly racket?”

He did the typical man thing, grabbing his BB gun before racing out the door to check on the situation. He soon returned, reporting that a small bird was causing all the fracas, about the size of his hand, tan- colored with dark speckles, and a long, curved bill that it was incessantly jabbing into our roof!

As much as I love birds and other wildlife, I feared that this uninvited visitor would damage the roof we had replaced a few years ago, at great expense. An Internet search confirmed that this species of woodpecker often did attack roofs, in search of insects to eat, or worse yet, to make a nesting cavity, and could in fact destroy the roof in the process.

My desk was right under the besieged portion of the roof, so I commanded Alexa to play heavy metal, hoping that the din would scare away the woodpecker. But to no avail. Its piercing jabs continued, punctuating the heavy metal like a unique percussion instrument. The woodpecker was bad enough, and the blaring rock band and its obscenities assailed my ears and my spirit. Enough! Alexa, stop!

In the relative quiet that ensued, I searched further online and learned of solutions for this problem, which entailed understanding the bird’s seemingly aggressive behavior. The woodpecker was merely trying to satisfy its basic needs for food and shelter. So, the ecofriendly solutions involved providing for these needs in ways that would not destroy our home.

I told Richard that all we had to do was to hang a suet feeder, as woodpeckers apparently prefer suet to roof-dwelling insects, and a medium-sized bird house to lure him away from our unexplainedly attractive roof. We opted for the bird house first, and Richard happily spent the next few hours constructing one from scrap lumber, complete with a street address of our house number plus one-half!

Whether the woodpecker appreciated our efforts or not, he left our roof, at least momentarily, allowing us to enjoy the blissful quiet, interrupted only by the gentle chirping of cardinals that frequent our many trees.

Perhaps our uninvited visitor was inspired by the cardinals’ example to enjoy the natural habitat our yard offers. We have many trees that he could peck at to his heart’s content, whether for insects to eat or a hole to nest in, should he prefer that to our “guest cottage,” now hanging in a tree not far from his favorite spot on our roof!

This experience got me thinking about how we as Christians should react to unexpected visitors in our lives, whether a first-time visitor at church, a new classmate or coworker, new neighbors on our street, or immigrants from a foreign country. Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven, we should try to be more like Christ each day, which is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2).

Are we suspicious of these uninvited visitors, concerned about how they may make us uncomfortable, disrupt our traditions or lifestyle, take away opportunities we had wanted ourselves, or utilize our limited resources? Do we misinterpret their attitudes or behaviors as aggressive, aloof or disruptive, and fail to understand the loneliness and isolation they may feel? Do we understand their needs for acceptance, belonging, and physical and spiritual sustenance, and try to meet these needs (James 2:15-16) as God shows us how?

James, the brother of Jesus, who was saved only after Christ’s resurrection, gave us practical wisdom for how to treat a church visitor. We should greet all visitors and welcome them with impartiality, making all feel at home rather than preferentially treating a well-dressed, prosperous visitor who might tithe more or attract wealthier visitors, while relegating the beggar to the back row (James 2:1-9).

At one church we attended, a retired sheriff was a member. He treated all men first-time visitors impartially, giving them a manly, back-patting hug – his way of discreetly checking to see if they were packing! An interesting blend of suspicion and hospitality!  

Laws given by God to Moses also addressed how strangers were to be treated by Hebrews in Israel. When harvesting their crops, they were not to harvest the corners of their fields, and whatever crops fell to the ground in the first pass were to be left there for strangers to glean, that their needs would be met (Leviticus 19:9-10). Ruth benefited from this practice first-hand, gleaning enough barley to provide for herself and her mother-in-law Naomi, especially as her future husband Boaz commanded his men to leave behind extra barley for her to gather, and to allow her to eat with them (Ruth 2:7-19).

The author of Hebrews urges us to extend hospitality to strangers, for in so doing, we may entertain angels unaware (Hebrews 13:2). The apostle Paul also tells us to be hospitable, to be kind to those of lesser means, and even to bless those who persecute us (Romans 12:10-14). The apostle Peter’s admonition is to fervently and selflessly love one another, which covers a multitude of sins, and to show hospitality to one another without grudging, as good stewards of the grace of God (1 Peter 4:8-10). Not surprisingly, hospitality is a virtue of the ideal woman Solomon describes (Proverbs 31:20), and a requirement for church leaders (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).

While we were lost, we were alienated from God (Ephesians 2:11-12; 4:18; Colossians 1:21) – His enemies (Romans 5:10; James 4:4); rebels against His Word and His will; and children of the devil (John 8:44), His archenemy. Yet once we are born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting Christ as our Lord and Savior, He graciously adopts us into His family (Galatians 4:5; Matthew 5:9; Luke 20:36), seats us at His family table, blesses us according to His riches in glory (Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:19), and makes us joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17).

Even now, Jesus Christ is preparing a place for each of His children to spend eternity with Him (John 14:2-3). Until we reach that Holy City, we are but strangers and pilgrims passing through a foreign country on our way to the Promised Land (Hebrews 11:13). We depend on God’s grace, guidance and provision, mostly realized through the kindness and compassion of fellow believers, to sustain us on that journey, May we have that same attitude toward uninvited visitors God places in our path, blessing them and ourselves through the joy of giving and hospitality!   

© 2023 Laurie Collett