God and Sparrows

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.  Matthew 10:28-31

Birds, like sparrows, are so common that we hardly, if ever, pay attention to them. But God does! “And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Mt 10:29). There are a lot of interesting things to learn about the threats and suffering we experience and God in this verse.

Do not fear. Our fear shouldn’t be driven by physical things and people. Worst case scenario they “kill the body” – but that’s all they can do to us! They “cannot kill the soul” – the most important thing to us! Put things in the right perspective and a lot of deep fears will fade away.

Do fear. It may sound strange for Jesus to say that we shouldn’t fear people, “But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). This verse isn’t intended to strike fear of God in the hearts of faithful Christians. It is to put our fear of people (persecutors) in perspective. We must not let our fear of people cause us to turn our back on God who is able to “destroy both soul and body in hell.” By the way, that’s the fate of our persecutors, so why would we side with them and not with God?

Sparrows on the ground. Sometimes it feels like God isn’t paying attention to what’s happening to us, but remember He notices the common sparrow when it falls to the ground. But here’s the thing: God is with the sparrow, but it still dies (falls to the ground). Read that again: God is with the sparrow, but it still dies! Suffering and even death don’t mean that God isn’t with us! It doesn’t mean that skeptics, unbelievers, and persecutors are right. Sparrows on the ground (God’s people suffering and dying) look like God wasn’t there, that He doesn’t care – but we know differently! “…not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father” – and neither will you. That’s His promise. And that’s what gets us through hard times and death to eternal life with our Father.    dd