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"Are not two sparrows sold
for a cent? And yet not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from your Father." (Matthew 10:29)
I wonder. Did Jesus pick sparrows for this illustration for a reason?
Was He just trying to say that God doesn't miss anything, or did
He mean to say that God cares about losing even one
sparrow? Am I right to detect a tone of compassion here?
I believe I am. Especially when He puts a value on one sparrow
(a half a penny) and then concludes: "So do not fear; you are
more valuable than many sparrows." The subject is not just God's
omniscience and omnipresence, it is the value he places on life
itself -- all living things -- from creatures on land and sea and in
the air, to all human beings made in His image, to you and me
personally. God notices, and He cares, and He doesn't miss a thing.
This is good for a number of reasons. First it's good because
it means that God cares that our new little puppy died on
Tuesday before we even had a chance to decide on a name for it.
She was so cute, and she declined so fast from the spunky ball
of energy we brought home last Friday to the skinny little thing that
could barely hold up its head yesterday morning. These words of
Jesus assure me that if it was hard for me to see her like this, it was
hard, too, for God.
But it also says something greater for us. It says that God, who
notices sparrows and puppies, is noticing you -- and not just when
you fall; He's noticing everything about you, because you have great
worth in His eyes.
And those of you who are struggling, I ask you to stop and ponder
this. If a sparrow and a puppy have worth to God, so that one
cannot fall to the ground apart from Him, how much more does
your heavenly Father value you? Believe it, because it's true, not
because I say so, or because you feel it or don't feel it. Believe
it, because it's true!
The Harbingers: Consider the Lilies