More Than Sparrows

More Than Sparrows

In the market of first-century Jerusalem, sparrows were sold for a penny — four for two pennies, meaning the fifth was thrown in free. They were the cheapest commodity available. Jesus uses this image to make one of His most personal promises: God notices each sparrow's fall. And you are worth more to Him than many sparrows. The price of the sparrow was nothing. The value God placed on each person was everything. A seminary professor used to say: 'Notice what Jesus says: 'Do not be afraid.' He is responding to a specific thing: fear. And the antidote to fear is not courage. The antidote is worth. Knowing what you are worth to God takes the bottom out of fear.'

Matthew 10:29-31 contains one of the most intimate anti-anxiety passages in the Gospels. Two sparrows for a penny. Not one of them falls without the Father's knowledge. And then the crescendo: 'Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.' Not estimated. Numbered. The most intimate possible knowledge — the number of your hairs, changing daily — is possessed by the Father who cares for you. This is the ground of courage in danger, the antidote to fear in adversity. Not 'be brave' but 'be known.' You are known. You are numbered. You are worth more than many sparrows to a Father who notices when sparrows fall. What fear would this displace in your life if you truly believed it?