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God cares for sparrows ‘Jesus said to his disciples, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your your Father's consent.' ‘So do not be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows.”' (St. Matthew 10, 29 & 31) At the beginning of the 20th century, an American woman called Mrs Martin became friends with a Mr and Mrs Doolittle in New York. Mrs Doolittle had been bedridden for twenty years and her husband travelled to work each day in a wheelchair. When the Martins asked them how their faith in God kept them so cheerful, Mrs Doolittle replied, ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.' Soon afterwards, Mrs Martin wrote a hymn with these words as a refrain:
Why should I feel discouraged,
Jesus probably chose to speak about sparrows because they were the commonest wild birds in the Holy Land. They were also the commonest bird in Britain at one time, but their numbers have declined recently. The cheeky way that sparrows peck up seeds in gardens or streets led to Londoners calling themselves ‘Cockney sparrows'. Yet the lives of sparrows are short and to suggest that the creator of the universe cares about each individual sparrow was an astonishing claim to make. Yet whatever picture we have in our minds of the greatness of God, surely he can do the same and more.
Therefore, as Jesus said, if God can care for each unthinking sparrow, how much more will he care for you and me? That isn't to say that he keeps you from suffering, any more than he stops the sparrow from falling to the ground. He didn't lift Mrs Doolittle from the bed, or Mr Doolittle from his wheelchair. But Jesus on the cross shows us that God cares so much about our suffering that he comes down to earth and suffers with us: it's knowing that truth that helps suffering Christians keep cheerful. God cares about suffering sparrows and God cares so much more about suffering people. Mrs Martin's refrain concluded with these words:
I sing because I'm happy. Eric Wallington |
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