My wife and I have a couple of bird feeders outside our living room window. It took a while for the birds to figure out that this source of food was available, but once they did, they entertained us with their presence. We like to watch them maneuver into place for their food. We enjoy seeing the colorful birds and the unusual ones that we had not noticed in our area before. We did a little research on some of the birds to see what they are called and where they migrate to in the winter.

One day last week we ran out of birdseed, and it was a few days before we were able to get some more. After a couple of days, the birds quit coming. They weren’t getting fed, so they stopped showing up. We have since replenished the feeders, and some, but not all, of the birds have returned.

Churches that don’t properly feed their people the Word of God may find that some of them will fly off somewhere else, looking for the spiritual meal that they aren’t getting at that particular congregation. We have to ensure that our worship services include a lot of reading and preaching of the Scripture. Our Sunday school classes and other small groups must be more than just sharing our own views and opinions of life—they must give people what they need most, the Word of God!

“…Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”—John 21:17.