Pandas eat a diet primarily consisting of Bamboo, even though their physiologically designed as carnivores, this makes them unable to properly digest the plant protein cellulose. Because of their inability to process plant proteins effectively they get little nutritional value from the food that they eat. They must constantly eat and keep bamboo in their digestive tract in order to survive.
We can look at the panda and think they must have been created for more, yet they spend the majority of their time feasting on something that doesn’t satisfy. How similar we are. C.S. Lewis says
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”(The Weight of Glory)

A panda's thumbs are especially designed to grasp bamboo. An interesting observation when we realize our own bent towards sin and the things of this world. Our nature seems designed to reach out for what’s readily available, as if we are designed for it. It’s only through the intervention of the grace of Christ, that we are able to move past this fleshly bent. We must strive to not always take the easy road; to grab at what’s convenient, what feels right, pretty soon we will be feasting on things that like the bamboo for the panda require all of our time and attention to get a whole lot of nothing.
The panda’s unique markings offer the ability to hide in the shadows. Humans are the masters of disguise; we mask our true position of worthlessness outside of Christ. We hide in the shadows, blending in with our surroundings; it’s only when the light of Christ shines in our lives eliminating the shadows that we realize we are even in the shadows. I think of a line in a song “I never saw my shadow, ‘til I saw the light” (Massivivid) we don’t see our darkness until we have the light. The contrast of the light and the shadow we were in is so drastic it separates us from our hiding places, exposing as we are.
When we think of the panda, we need to be reminded of our natural propensity towards things or the world and remember how we too feast on the things that fill us up but don’t offer any value. We must remember that through Christ we are a new creation, his light has exposed our sin and his blood washes us clean, and there is no hiding from him.