Ok, I’m gonna brag a bit first. That title is probably one of my favorites. Not sure if it has been used/thought of before but it just felt so right. I was listening to a sermon on Luke Chapter 12. Christ is teaching His disciples not to worry and brings up the example of how even the free sparrow is not forgotten and I just felt that is so fitting in my own life. Sometimes, we may feel like the 5th sparrow – the free bird, but there is so much to unpack here.

HE cares for us

He cares for us

This hits deep. Never forget He cares for you. We may feel like we have no one with us but this couldn’t be the furthest from the truth. We may feel the burdens of life and that we are going through them alone but again, this is false. We have Him with us and He cares for us. Just spend a few minutes and really think about that. He cares for you. I heard a quote which was attributed to St. Pishoy Kamel (couldn’t find the source though) which basically said Christ would do it all over again (the incarnation, His suffering and death on the Cross) even if for one person, and that person was you. This is how much He loves us. I honestly believe we cannot truly fathom the love He has for us. It would be too much to bear.

Not Forgotten

And not one of them is forgotten

Yeah, well obviously right? But for me, the point here is that logically you’re not going to forget any of the sparrows you paid for but the one that was free, well it was free. It was worth nothing (more on this later). But even the free one our Lord does not forget about. He says “and not one of them is forgotten”. This is a reminder that we are never forgotten in the eyes of God. The Samaritan Woman was not forgotten at the well nor was Lazarus forgotten in the tomb.

More than many sparrows

This one is so beautiful. Our Lord wraps up the story and brings it back to us, saying even this little bird, even this 5th one that is not forgotten and still cared for, we are more than this. This 5th sparrow that was the free bird is still cared for, still loved and yet You are worth more than these.

Our worth is not rooted in what we do but it is rooted in who we are. Our worth comes from our identity and this identity is in Christ.

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Ephesians 1:4

So rest easy sparrow number 5. He loves you more than you could ever know.