Fitcher's Bird

For the first time in my life, I am reading through the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales (I have to do some intellectual reading like this occasionally). I never realized how very gory some of their stories are. For example: Fitcher's Bird.

There once was a wizard, Fitcher, who would dress as a beggar. When a young woman would come to her door to give him bread, he had the power to touch her and she would leap into his bag. Once home, he would give her anything she wanted, but warned her she would die if she lost the egg he gave her or went into the forbidden room.

A family of three girls, one by one, got taken. The first two were caught having peeked into the room. The wizard sawed them into pieces and left them in the secret blood-soaked chamber with all the other murdered girls.

The third sister managed to enter the room, but avoided being caught. The wizard was then under her control. She managed to piece her sisters together and trick the wizard into carrying them, now alive, back to her parents. She escaped while he was gone by dressing in feathers like a bird. Then her brothers and friends trapped the wizard and his friends in the house and burned them alive.

Reading in the book of Proverbs, I am struck by the similarity of this story with the illustrations Solomon gave to his sons to entreat them to follow wisdom.

The adulterous wife and the lady fool are synonymous (fool in Hebrew means morally deficient...of course, this goes way beyond just adultery, but adultery is the pictures the teacher uses).

Wisdom too is pictured as a lady. This female imagery, I can only guess, is also an illustration. Each boy will grow up and pursue either one "lady" or the other. As natural as the pursuit of a woman to be his wife, so these personified women...Lady Wisdom and Lady Fool...will one or the other be the quest of his life.

Here is where the parallel to the fairy tale is striking.

Speaking of the adulterous or Lady Fool, he teaches...

Do not let your heart turn to her ways
   or stray into her paths.
Many are the victims she has brought down;
   her slain are a mighty throng.
Her house is a highway to the grave,
   leading down to the chambers of death. . . . .
   ...she says to those who lack judgment
'Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!
But little do they know that the dead
      are there,
   that her guests are in the depths of
      the grave. (Proverbs 7:25-27; 9:17-18)

The resemblance between the fairy tale and the teachings of Solomon split here. In the story, the girls had no way to resist the path of wickedness. Their only hope was to outsmart him.

Solomon warns that action must be taken before the temptation comes knocking. DO NOT even step foot in her path, he warns his children. Stay away from her neighborhood. If you go near, you will be caught, outwitted, and destroyed. There is no way to escape unscathed.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11, cf 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 2 Timothy 2:22)

We are not helpless slaves of fate unless we are still slaves of sin. If this is where you are, you were born in the wizard's bloody chamber and have no hope to excape from dying there...except one.

Life Map

A friend sent me a flair on Facebook that says, "My life has a superb cast, but I can't figure out the plot." If you are like most of us, you can relate to this. Most people don't know where their life is headed. A rare few feel called to do something in there life and, at least to us outsiders, it appears they follow the course to the end of their life.

I know. You may tell me God has the answers, that the Bible shows the way. I will agree with you. The Bible does show us the way to God and the way to life that pleases Him, but it stops short of explaining life, of showing us what we each should do with our life. It would be naive to think it did.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes how he pursued life. He tried to find out what would make him happy, what would fulfill his craving to live a life of purpose. He describes a life most of us only dream about. He had pleasures at his fingertips. He built houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, pools, acquired possessions, whatever his "eyes desired." He also sought wisdom and God gave to him wisdom more than any other man. He, like we in our small way, found these pursuits, in themselves, empty, vain, void of lasting pleasure.

Solomon concludes his wrestling with the meaning of life by saying, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

It leaves me where I began. There are moments I wish I had a literal life map to follow. Sometimes I'm tired of the adventures of life as much as the mundane tasks.

Life is a mystery. It is meant to be lived fully. It's the prologue, but it sets the stage of life to come. The decisions you make in a moment will impact forever. But we don't have to go forth blindly. We have One who sees the end of our life, as well as beginning. In John 10:4 Jesus says, "When He puts forth His sheep, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice."

To whose voice are you listening? Are you blindly going forth without a map or are you listening to the One who drew the map? There is a purpose. We don't know now, but we will.