阅读经文 

你是否曾经见到过海鸥或海燕宛如悬空在海浪之上？风浪尽管在怒吼，但鸟儿仍然平静地翱翔在波涛汹涌的海面上。

圣经最初所描述神的灵就是在汹涌的水面上盘旋的形像。“运行/盘旋”（hovering）这个词在行动中表明了一种专注的关怀，甚至是关切，它与护雏型鸟类的行为毫无疑问是关联在一起的，它们在鸟巢里孵蛋，并在雏鸟成长的过程中精心呵护并维持雏鸟的温暖和安全。圣灵以祂的保护之爱，在未成形的深渊表面盘旋。

当《创世记》中的创世故事讲述给神的子民的时候，其他版本关于世界起源的故事却充斥着暴力和混乱。在这种动荡不定的情况下，《创世记》的故事作为一份礼物出现了，它揭示了神对受造世界怀有目的、充满爱的旨意，要把一切都变得美好。在当时世代，这听起来与其他创世故事大不相同。因为爱和良善是这个故事的核心，它进一步邀请人们认识神是一位慈爱的、护理的创造者。正如我们在这个月将要看到的，《圣经》中的许多其他章节也通过鸟的形像来教导我们一些属神的事。让我们一起继续阅读和思考吧。

Have you ever watched a seagull or a tern that seems to just hang in the air over the waves? The wind may be blustering and the waters roaring, but the bird still soars calmly over the rough ocean.

That image of hovering over turbulent waters is how the Bible first describes the Spirit of God. The word for "hovering" indicates a high degree of care, even concern, in its action, and it is unmistakably linked to the behavior of protective birds that brood over their nests, guarding and keeping their clutch warm and safe as it develops. The Holy Spirit, in his protective love, hovers over the surface of the unformed deep.

The story of creation in Genesis was given to God's people at a time when other stories about the beginning of the world were filled with themes of violence and chaos. Into that unsettled situation, the Genesis story came as a gift that revealed God's purposeful, loving intention to make all things good and beautiful. At the time, it would have sounded far different from the other creation stories. And because love and goodness are at the center of this story, it continues to invite people to know God as the loving, protective Creator that he is. As we'll see this month, many other passages in the Bible also teach us something about God through the imagery of birds. Let's keep reading and pondering together.