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His Eye Is On The
Sparrow
In Matthew 10 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles
and "gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease"
(Mt 10,1). This commission was limited in that they were not
allowed to "go into the way of the Gentiles" or "enter
a city of the Samaritans" (Mt 10,5). Instead, they were
sent "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt
10,6). Our Lord also warned them that persecution would accompany
their preaching (Mt 10,16-22). As an encouragement in the midst
of this persecution, Jesus told the disciples of His Father's
care: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper
coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your
Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
(Mt 10,27-31).
"Sparrow" is the name given to several
different species of birds in the Bible -- they ate grain and
insects and gathered in noisy flocks. Sparrows would often build
their untidy nests in the eaves of houses, but were not driven
away when they built their nests in the Temple (Ps 84,3). These
insignificant little birds were such social creatures that a
lone sparrow was the symbol of deep loneliness (Ps 102,7).
In the days of our Lord sparrows were sold for a very low price
-- two of them for a copper coin (Mt 10,29). A copper coin, an
asarion, was a very small Roman coin, was worth about 1/16 of
a silver denarius, and was therefore worth less than a quarter
in U.S. currency today. Those who were poor and could not afford
to sacrifice a sheep or a goat might bring a sparrow to the Temple
(cf. Lev 14,1-7).
So insignificant were these little birds that
if you bought four sparrows the seller would throw in one more
for free (Lk 12,4-7). It was this extra sparrow of which Jesus
said, "and not one of them is forgotten before God."
His care for His creation is so great that even this extra sparrow
is noted and observed by God!
The point our Lord was making is this: if God is concerned about
the tiny sparrow and notes its fate, how much greater must His
concern be for man, who is immeasurably greater in value than
the sparrow!
God's Eye Is On Things We Deem Insignificant
Sometimes it seems that God is the only one
who cares for sparrows. Cats and birds of prey like to hunt and
eat them, and little boys have been known to torment them. Adults
complain about how they multiply and consider them pests. Yet,
Jesus said, "not one of them falls to the ground apart from
your Father's will" (Mt 10,29). It is interesting that Jesus
chose the most common of all birds to teach a profound truth:
in God's eyes, no one is insignificant!
God not only provides food for "the birds
of the air," but He also "clothes the grass of the
field" (Mt 6,25-34). The "lilies of the field"
were the scarlet poppies -- they bloomed for only one day on
the hillsides of Israel, and yet in their brief life they were
clothed with a beauty which surpassed "Solomon in all his
glory," and when they died they were "thrown into the
oven."
In the days of our Lord ovens consisted of
a clay box set on bricks over a fire. When it was desired to
rapidly raise the temperature of it, some handfuls of dried grasses
and wild flowers were thrown inside the oven and set alight.
The flowers had but one day of life; and then they were set alight
to help a woman to heat an oven when she was baking in a hurry;
and yet God clothes them with a beauty which is beyond man's
power to imitate. If God gives such beauty to a short-lived flower,
how much more will he care for man?
Surely, the generosity, which is lavished
upon a flower for one day, will not be forgetful of man, the
crown of His creation.
David was impressed by God's care for us:
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man
that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit
him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and
You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him
to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all
things under his feet, all sheep and oxen -- even the beasts
of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that
pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent
is Your name in all the earth!" (Ps 8,3-9). |
Saturday, 22
August
Henny
Youngman