07/19/13 by Sojotales

This morning as I drove to work a flock of birds wheeled and turned through the blue sky overhead. The Brownian motion of the flock flowed effortlessly through the current of the air. Watching them fly from east to west above the road in front of me brought an amazing thought to mind, “God who created these small fragile creatures has used them to create this wonderful scene.” That thought in turn led me to think of the verses in Matthew 10:28-32 that speaks of sparrows.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

God tells us through His word “not to fear.” Twice during this passage he talks about sparrows; telling us how much more he values us. From that perspective I continued to watch the flock’s flight wondering why God would use birds as a symbol to compare our relationship with Him.
My thoughts jumped to Psalm 91:1-4.(KJV)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

In these verses the psalmist speaks of the strength, power and protection of God saying that the Lord is his refuge, his fortress, and that God’s truth is a shield and a buckler. The psalmist evokes feelings of safety by drawing our focus to items that we equate with a position of strength; the fortress, the shield and the buckler. It is interesting to note that nestled in the middle of these verses he gently inserts the word picture of protection using the soft feathers and wings of a bird.
My spirit was brightened by those thoughts during that morning’s drive and later as I wrote them down I kept thinking back to Matthew 10:32.(KJV)

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

It amazed me how a simple thought chain about sparrows would lead me back to thinking about Christ. God tells us in His word that He sees when the sparrow falls and I am humbled to realize that He, who sees even the small insignificant bird, loved us so much that He sent His son down from heaven so that Jesus could live here on earth, die for our sins, arise again and ascend into heaven. He did all this so that Jesus could tell us of that love and assure us that He will stand on our behalf before God Himself.