The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"One Sparrow"
"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing (penny)? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father" (Matthew 10:29).
Few statements of Scripture more speak to the character of God than the Lord Jesus Christ's revelation of our Heavenly Father's intense devotion and interest to creatures who possess almost no value in human measure.
Sparrows constitute the highest number of birds populating any species on the planet (current estimates indicate more then 1.6 billion exist). Multitudes die in any moment. According to the Lord Jesus, our Heavenly Father attends every fall, of every sparrow. Such a fact, so simply expressed by the Savior, is fraught with inestimable meaning and light regarding who our Lord is, and the disposition of His heart, mind, and way…
"The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalm 145:9).
Do we view God in such terms? We must. Truth demands that we see Him as so "full of compassion" that creatures of little or no worth to anyone else matter to Him so much that they do not journey through the valley of the shadow without His presence. Indeed, it is one thing to know that the Lord will be with us in our passing, a marvel of grace every believer anticipates with comfort and joy (Psalm 23:4). But one sparrow who falls? Yes. "The Lord is good to all…"
This truth, pondered but briefly with prayer and care, will change our hearts toward the Creator and His creation. All things matter to Him. All things mean something to Him. All things find Him emotionally invested in their well being. This universal truth of caring and compassion, embraced by faith, illuminates our hearts regarding both others and ourselves. Indeed, if one sparrow cannot fall without our Father, how intensely and intently must His gaze be directed toward human pains, griefs, difficulties, and challenges? "Ye are of more value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31). How much must our sorrows be felt by the God who "comforteth us in all our tribulation," and by His Son declared to be, for our sakes, "the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief?" (II Corinthians 1:4; Isaiah 53:3). His presence at the fall of one sparrow shines bright light upon the answer. Considered for the first time, it changes our perspective. Contemplated often, it continues to change how we view God, others, ourselves, and our Father's involved presence and working in all things.
I have long pondered this truth. However, every time it comes to mind, I say the same thing to our Heavenly Father: "I do not know what this means." This is not completely true. Some light does shine within my heart when considering the sparrow and its fall, and even more, the Father and His presence with the fallen. It nevertheless remains true that such a wonder of loving devotion to such a seemingly insignificant little one causes me to realize how little I actually know of God's immeasurable goodness. "One of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." Surely, such truth leads us to fall on the ground before our Father, in wonder at how much all things of His creation mean to Him, and in wonder regarding how much one sparrow means to His heart.
"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion."
(Psalm 111:4)
"I know all the fowls of the mountains."
(Psalm 50:11)
Weekly Memory Verse
"For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."
(II Corinthians 4:11).
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