THE MAJESTIC RED TAILED HAWK

By Van Yandell

John 1: 1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Watching a predator bird on the hunt is a sight to behold. Working in my yard, noticed was a large bird circling, hunting and watching. At first I thought it was an eagle but with binoculars, saw it was a red-tailed hawk.

It was a very windy day for late April here in Western Kentucky. As I watched him circle and appearing to be weightless, the design of his wings reminded of the grand design of all things by our Creator (John 1: 3).

Hawks utilize broad rounded wings to soar effortlessly while seeking their prey. Appearing to gain altitude, they use thermal drafts to rise higher. His broad tail is maneuvered to steer and gain altitude.

His flight appears to be effortless. Never seen was a flapping of his wings. He seemed to float against the clear blue sky further demonstrating his grand design.

We witness every day of our lives the works of our Creator. God was and is the greatest architect, designer and engineer. The functioning, the movements and the coordination of His work is beyond amazing to even the most skilled builder.

The hawk’s eyesight is one that had to be work of the Creator. The red-tailed hawk’s exceptional vision is about eight times sharper than that of a human with 20/20 vision.

They can spot their prey on the ground from up to a mile away. Their eyes make up about twenty percent of their head weight and have a three-hundred degree field of view.

They can literally see all around except for that sixty degree angle directly behind them. The observed constant turning of their heads while in flight is witness of that.

A hawk can see ultra-violet light. To consider the natural abilities of the red-tailed hawk is to give one a new perspective of the abilities, omnipotence and the omniscience of our Creator God.

Hawks have a high density retina and two centers of focus allowing sighting in two directions. One is for peripheral and one is for distance. Their eyes have a third eyelid membrane that protects their eyes during high-speed dives.

The red-tailed hawk’s speed while hunting ranges from twenty to forty miles per hour, depending on wind direction. His dive however on prey can accelerate up to 120 miles per hour.

A question we must ask is: Could all these characteristics of the hawk (wings/body structure and eyes) evolved by accident? Some would say “yes” but we also realize ignorance is rampant in our world today.

We earthlings take so much for granted. The functioning of our own cardiovascular systems, our central nervous systems and the constant regenerating of every one of our thirty-trillion body cells.

Each cell has over one-hundred trillion atoms.  Those atoms are of up to eighty-three elements. Only about twelve of those are essential for life.

Those atoms in our bodies have existed for millions (perhaps billions) of years. They have simply been re-arranged, probably millions of times and happen to be in our bodies at this moment in time.

God is the greatest and first re-cycler and reciprocator. Science and the Bible tell us matter and energy are constant, only reformed into other substances. The first physics law of thermodynamics agrees with the Holy Bible in this concept.

The concept of the generating of oxygen and carbon dioxide was learned by us in elementary science. Humans and other animals breathe in oxygen to sustain those thirty trillion cells in our bodies.

We then exhale carbon dioxide which in turn is utilized by green plants to photosynthesize oxygen. Reciprocation is the process. Balance of nature is the principle.

Ecclesiastes 1: 7 gives us an example of God’s recycling ability. “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Our water amount on planet earth is constant (the same amount from creation).

Science agrees and the Bible reinforces this principle. The water you were baptized with may have been the same water Jesus was baptized with. That’s not likely but worth the consideration.

Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus make up about ninety-nine percent of the human body mass and are absolutely essential for life.

Genesis 2: 1 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” Many believe (including this writer) that all the matter, elements and atoms at that point had been created that would ever be created.

Many do not give God credit (or honor and glory) for His work in the design and construction of this earth, all living matter and the vastness of the universe.

When we consider the movement of the moons around the planets, the planets around their suns/stars and those solar systems around the galaxies, smallness for us and vastness of God take a new perspective.

That one great God, the God of the Bible, has designed for us such a world for which we should have infinite amazement. His works are beyond our understanding.

The flight and vision of the red-tailed hawk are two of the millions of examples of His great work. But His greatest work for all mankind was His sacrifice so that we imperfect people could have eternal life with Him.

The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).

One more thing, did I mention Who designed and engineered the red-tailed hawk?

Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com