I mentioned in a
recent blog that I have taped Matthew 10:31 on my mirror: “Fear not, therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows” (ESV). Psalm 84:3 presents another
interesting picture: “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for
herself, where she may lay her young, at Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King
and my God.” Sometimes I feel like the little sparrow that has snuck into the
palace through an open window—not necessarily invited, but not rejected either.
Allowed to stay for the pleasure of the King. In His presence is the best home
and all the provisions that are ever needed. “Look at the birds of the air:
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Gather
feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
It’s interesting that just a few chapters apart in Matthew,
Jesus reminds His followers that they don’t need to fear or be anxious because
the Father cares for them more than the birds. The first instance is preached
to a large crowd in the Sermon on the Mount. The second comes after Jesus names
the twelve disciples and calls them to go out and proclaim His kingdom. If they
were anything like us (which they were), they could well have heard the first
sermon and thought “Well, sure, God cares for people more than animals. Nothing
new there.” But when Jesus repeated His message to just the twelve, maybe it
started to sink in a little deeper: “Oh, God really cares for me personally,
not just Israel in general.”
God’s care is further expressed in His invitation to cast
our cares upon Him. A devotional book I’ve been reading included a prayer
thanking God that we can “come before Him,” but the choice of words made me
pause. You “come before” a judge and jury, but you can come to the loving Father. You make petitions
to the court, but you can lay your burdens before the Lord.
I had a dream the other night in which someone gave me an
orchid, but almost immediately the stalk broke, and I was trying to find a way
to prop it up to save the flower. When I woke I was reminded of Isaiah 42:3: “A
bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench;
He will faithfully bring forth justice” (ESV). This prophecy was repeated in
Matthew 12 as being fulfilled by Jesus.
There are many other metaphors in Scripture to describe God’s
love for His children, which I won’t try to list. Suffice it to say that God
doesn’t want us to take His love for granted. Here is an old hymn I came across
that has been running through my mind all week.
Here Is Love (words
by William Rees, public domain)
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout heav’n’s eternal days.
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout heav’n’s eternal days.
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
