“Are not five sparrows sold
for two pennies? Yet God forgets not one of them. Indeed, the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many
sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 NIV
Sparrows
are a small, plump bird as little as 4.5 inches long, weighing a whopping 1/2
an ounce (.47 oz). Jesus asks his
listeners to consider how much God cares for each of these birds. As if the sparrows weren’t small enough,
think of the diameter of a single strand of hair. Its weight is immeasurable regardless
of its length. The Lord is making an
important point, that being, the size or the stature of the item is
inconsequential, for it is in His character to unconditionally love all that He
has created. God is mindful of each and
every one of us. He knows our comings and
goings and forgets nothing for He cares for us each and every day, at all times
of the day or night.
There appears to a contradiction in the
text between verses 4 & 5 as compared to verse 7 above. First Jesus tells us not to fear those who can only kill the body, yet not touch
the soul. Then he tells us whom we should fear. It is God, for He alone can cast a man into
hell for all eternity. The person who
thinks He would not do such a thing obviously doesn’t know what the Bible says
about the wrath of God. It would come at
the end of time, when the White Throne Judgment takes place after man has been
given every chance to repent. It is not
God’s desire for any to perish, but if a man insists to go his own way, he will
suffer the consequences of his folly. After Jesus tells us to fear God, He
turns around and says n v. 7, “Don’t be
afraid.” Which is it? It’s ‘not fearing’ for God in His loving mercy
need not be feared in the sense of being afraid if we are following His
standards.
This notion of fearing God is spoken of
throughout scripture. Solomon starts Proverbs off by declaring in Chapter 1
verse 7 that “the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, … .” In Proverbs
9:10 he reiterates: “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom … “. David
says in Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good
understanding.” Fear in this case is
not to be afraid, but to revere or be in awe of. To respect God is to love Him for who He
is. David touches on the crux of the
matter, “… all who follow his precepts … “,
which is truly the only way to know God at all and understand what is
expected of us as followers of Christ.
God is watching over you. He knows you better than any one else ever
could. To illustrate that point, think
of an architect who drew of blueprints of a house that is to be built. There is no one who will know the ins and outs
of that design better than the architect.
So it is with Almighty God. He
knows us because He formed us in our mother’s womb. So never doubt how much the Lord cares for
you, you are of infinite worth to Him.
Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
NOTE: Five sparrows sold for two pennies. The
“pennies” are the assarion, equal to one-sixteenth of a denarius (a typical
day’s wage). Five sparrows sold for roughly an hour’s pay, but God remembers
them all.
Resource: Reformation Study Bible.
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