The Sparrow

Consider the sparrow. It flies through the blue sky, chirping its proud song in the trees only made possible by a sparrow. It does not want, it only has needs. The sparrow searches for food, eating as much as it pleases. It knows where to find its food, and there is always food for it. The sparrow journeys home to its nest where she feeds her young.

The sparrow does not toil or labor for its food. It finds it; it knows where to look and it knows it will always be there. The sparrow trusts the food will be there. Her young do not leave the nest in search of food. They wait patiently in their nest for the sparrow to return. They trust she will feed them.

The sparrow rests on a branch and looks out. It cannot admire the beauty of the world it lives in, never taking in the colors of the sky or relishing in the cool breeze on a hot day. The sparrow just sits on the branch idly and watches the world turn.

Eventually the sparrow, after years of gathering food and building nests, will meet its demise. Just as all life. It will one day no longer sing its sparrow song or fly through the blue sky.

Have you ever mourned for a sparrow? Could you possibly mourn for all the sparrows that have ever met their demise? There is Someone who does. The same One who feeds the sparrow and gave it the gift of song.

Consider yourself, now. A masterpiece, beautifully made. You have something far more complex than needs, and those are called desires. These desires define who you are, as only you could want. You do toil, however, and labor for food. You climb mountains and read poetry and kiss someone you love. You are not confined to one place; you can travel to any point across the globe. You can admire the world we live in. Yet the challenge to trust is far greater than the sparrow’s, though we have been prioritized higher than all creation by the same One who made the sparrow — the same One is the One that made us.

There is something deeper than desires you have and those are called problems. They are specific to you and your circumstances. They are the obstacles that force you to overcome idleness and stagnant-mindedness. They are placed in your way to be more. And if that same One can mourn for every sparrow that meets its demise, how important must it be to that same One to solve your problems? How great is it that your needs are met and desires are seen? How much more is it to know our food will be at our table after we have worked? How much greater is it to trust that we are provided for, if even a sparrow does not worry?

Consider the One who made the sparrow. The One who made you.

Matthew 10:31-32