Revealing of the Sons of God

Cycling home from chapel, I see a fair share of the local wildlife. A few Sundays ago, it felt like certain members of the animal kingdom were purposefully coming out to greet me. On Brogden Lane, at a particular point, a young owl likes to sit in the middle of the lane and only moves out of my way when I ring my bell. He has since learned to fly, and he swooped down last Sunday night so I could see his progress, for which I rang congratulations on the said bell. Then there is the hare. Instead of seeing me and fleeing, he comes closer to me (about ten feet) and stares, before disappearing under a gate.

A more superstitious man with New Age tendencies might think that the spirit of some earth goddess was introducing herself through her agents, or a dead relation had popped back and wished to communicate some message. Using speechless creatures would hardly be conducive to such a purpose; furthermore, goddesses do not exist and departed relations are awaiting judgement in hades or kneeling before Jesus’ beautiful face: I am of no interest to them whatsoever. So is it my Hi-Viz coat which so enamours the owls and hares of Brogden? Perhaps. Or might it be some innate knowledge peculiar to all creation, the natural world, that the sons of God are being revealed?

…because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. -Romans 8:21-23, New King James Version

I am being fanciful, of course, and think my luminous outfit is the more likely explanation for those creatures' fascination. When Paul talks of this in Romans, however, he may refer to the angelic dimension, but it is just possible that those humbler denizens of the earthly creation, which were not part of Adam’s rebellion but still suffered as a result, are themselves dimly aware of the Creator’s good plan of redemption, and its chief beneficiaries. I sometimes wonder if animals and birds know more than we imagine.