MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29–31

One of the many things I appreciate about my wife is her ability to notice. She notices birds and animals, flowers and trees. She knows their names and can point out their habits and habitats. She notices people and things about people that I too easily miss.

When exploring the world with her, I get to see and experience more of the world than I would alone. This is the kind of co-exploring relationship into which we are invited by God—to see the world as God sees and hears it. We can notice the abundant creativity and detail that He designed into the world, paying attention to the smallest creatures and noticing their joys and their losses. To hold a tiny bird is to feel its weightlessness and marvel at its vulnerability. Things we might be tempted to dismiss or disregard are considered by God as having great value. All He created matters. Remarkably, without diverting His attention from the smallest bird, God’s vast attentiveness is all the more directed toward us.

We are worth more than many sparrows, Jesus insisted, without diminishing the value of a single bird. He also knows the minutiae of our lives.

And if He is keeping a count of the hairs on our heads as that count fluctuates across our lives, how much more does He see and know our joys and griefs, disappointments and successes, hopes and fears? In God’s creation, little things matter—and you matter more. God notices even the little things, and He notices you and your life even more.

May we never underestimate the knowingness and attentiveness of God. His loving attention is one more way in which He says, “Do not be afraid.”