“Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’ ” (John 21:22) ESV

 I’m gonna shoot that bird if he’s not gone when we get back from vacation! My husband was at his wits end. 

Cringing, I immediately said a prayer… Goodness gracious Lord what is going on with Your bird? He’s seriously confused. Please help him figure it out. 

Truth is, I felt sorry for him and certainly wasn’t ready for him to meet his demise, yet I had to admit he was on my last nerve too.

For months, our feathered nuisance spent his day traveling back-and-forth from our sliding glass door to our kitchen windows pecking at the glass and singing a little song. 

As soon as we approached the glass, he’d abort his mission, only to return as quickly as he flew away. 

Hundreds and hundreds of beak marks smeared our door and windows. From early morning until dusk, he remained on a relentless quest. 

One day while standing at a distance, I watched the poor bird tirelessly peck the door every few seconds and sing his little song over and over again. And I began to feel there was something much deeper going on here as the Spirit prompted me to ask God about this bizarre situation.

Now God knows when I have a burning question on my mind, I take it straight to Google.

So He knew in the early summer of 2018 I would add… Why is this bird constantly pecking at my window?… to my ongoing list of Google questions. 

And what I found was twofold. The literal answer entwining itself within God’s spiritual lesson for me. 

I learned our persistent bird was a song sparrow suffering from a case of mistaken identity. 

God gave him a task list — establish a territory, find a mate, build a nest, and reproduce — but he was desperately struggling to complete task number one.

All day long, day-after-day in an attempt to defend and establish his territory, he vigorously pecked at his own reflection thinking it was an intruder.

And as I pondered on this new enlightenment, it hit me. Ahhh… I get it now Lord! 

See God gave me a task too. He called me to write. But instead of diligently working on this treasured purpose from Him, I busied myself with an “intruder” of this same craft. And my mind began to fill with thoughts like…

 I can’t write about this topic now because “she” just posted a blog about it.

"She" has a bigger following than me, so how can I even compete?

I too was suffering from a case of mistaken identity because my identity lies within Christ and what He’s purposed me to do; not what He’s entrusted “her” to do.

Friend, this is how that slick ‘ol devil works. He shoves us in front of our reflection and whispers this age-old lie… You are a nobody and you’ll never measure up to “her”!

And what happens when we allow ourselves to be taken captive into this mindset?

We either concede by walking away from our purpose or we hone into our defensive tactics instead of building our offensive line.

I wasn’t about to walk away because I was just getting started, but my thoughts began to look more and more defensive…

Since "she's" intruded into my topic territory, how can I write better than "she" does?

"Her" website looks, feels and speaks similar to mine, so how can I make mine stand out more than "hers"?

But I want to share what God whispered in my heart back then that I still hold tight in my heart today…

This is exactly what Jesus was trying to get across to Peter in our key verse. And when we back up to look at the context around verse 22, we see Jesus had just commanded three separate times for Peter to feed and tend His sheep right before He dropped the bombshell of… oh and by the way Peter, you’re gonna die a martyr’s death.

But Peter’s focus immediately shifts to the apostle John as he asks Jesus how John will die. Jesus’ reply… “what is that to you?”… may appear harsh but Jesus knew Peter couldn’t feed and tend His sheep if his focus was tangled up in John’s life.

And He knows we can’t share His story and give Him glory if we’re too busy trying to run defense against one of our own.

So how do we prevent ourselves from engaging in the enemy’s comparison game? Jesus gave us the answer… “You follow Me!”

Following Jesus not only shuts down the alarm bells of the enemy’s “intruder alert!, intruder alert!”, but we also begin to welcome “her” purpose into God’s Kingdom too. 

I have something to offer

You have something to offer

“She” has something to offer

Friend, if there is someone you’re viewing as an “intruder” in your church, your Bible study, your ministry, your small group, and/or your circle of Christian friends, I challenge you to start welcoming her in. Start praying for her. Start encouraging her. Start cheering her on. And start loving her as your sister in Christ.

Because as believers, we are all on the same team — Team Jesus! We are the offense! And God never ceases to amaze how He works differently within us all. Even by sending song sparrows as part of the refinement process.

And if you’re wondering if my husband shot the bird when we returned home from vacation? Well, our feathered friend was long gone. He finally figured it out. Or maybe I finally figured it out. Either way… God spared his life and restored my purpose.

Dear Father, help us shut down the enemy’s trap of comparison and shift our focus on following You. Thank You for equipping each and every one of us with our different and unique abilities to carry Your message to this broken world. Help us to lift each other up, cheer each other on, and pray for one another. In Jesus’ name, Amen.