The ‘V’-Uplift… Hello Hump Day Readers. It is July 31 on this Hump Day and another month of the calendar is over—time does fly! And fly—is part of today’s devotion. Al and I were off last week and for 7 days we were reveling in God’s creation at 10,000+ feet. From mountains to rivers, blue skies along with rain-hail-snow and a variety of animals and lush forests it just felt like the 7 days flew before we knew it.

At one place called Taylor Park which is a huge impound lake from the powerful Taylor River by Crested Butte, we saw Canadian and Snow Geese on this large body of water. Just watching the Snow Geese rise in their formation reminded me of how our Creator God created such a beautiful and SMART bird! Geese fly in a V-formation as most of you know. But there is so much engineering behind that and I want to share it because how many of us think of God as an engineer?!

A while back, a team of engineers did an experiment in a wind tunnel to determine just why geese fly in a ‘V’ formation rather than other birds in flight. They discovered that each goose—flapping its wings—creates an uplift for the goose that follows. While this uplift may be minuscule for each goose, the result is that the whole flock gains 71% greater flying range than if they journeyed alone! So to distribute the work among the geese, the leader of the ‘V’ will fall back periodically to let another leader take the point. The migration of the Snow Goose is from the bottom of South America to Nome Alaska and the Arctic Circle, so this leader to another leader to another…well it gives each bird its strength for a certain time and then it goes to another. No wonder they can accomplish this every year! It’s like an “Iron-Man Goose Run!”

I find this amazing example in God’s creation can also show us something very important about working together. So often we are on our own, “I can do it, I don’t need help” but that ‘V-Uplift’ gets us pooped out pretty quickly. When people in a group decide to sacrifice a little for the sake of the whole, then the group is better able to accomplish its goal. But when a member wanders away, it will be detrimental to the group’s task.

In Ephesians 4:16 [NLT], the Apostle Paul puts it plainly about togetherness:  “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

Let’s take the Snow Goose ‘V’ and plunk it into the lives of Christ-followers. Why? Because the same is true for us as is the goose. Each individual Christian is called to sacrifice for the betterment of others; we have our ‘V’ then we step back for another one to have their ‘V’ and so it goes. The body of Christ is one that shares, gives in need and not for their own good but for the good of others.

This sharing is not easy for us, however. Our society laughs at those who practice self-denial to help others. Sadly, many Christians struggle with putting others first, too. We want the gold, or the silver or at least the bronze, right? In this time of the Olympics, we see parents who have sacrificed so much for their child to be an Olympian. The other day one Olympian helped another in a grueling 800-meter-race. He wasn’t concerned with the possibility of losing a medal, he was concerned about another runner who was exhausted—he fell hard on the tarmac, hardly breathing and in a state of confusion. Could you do it—leave the medal for another in need?

In closing, thinking about the times you helped someone in need; did you feel the power of an ‘V-Uplift’?  Has someone helped you when you ‘V-Uplift’ was pooped out? What did that mean to you? Friends, pray that God would show you the many ways that you can humble yourself for the sake of building-up another. Use your ‘V-Uplift’ and then pass it on when you need someone to help you. Honestly, if God has engineered this gift for the geese don’t you think God wants us to do the same? So, come one, it’s time to fly! AMEN.