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“Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” Matthew 6:26 Now is the wrong time for me to write this post. My life is in constant disarray. Things that I had dedicated myself to for life are falling apart. I’ve been hurt more deeply than ever before, and it has been consistent and constant. Days open with more than enough troubles of their own. Life HURTS! Now is the perfect time for me to write this post. My life is in constant disarray. Yet I know a God who hovers over the waters of chaos and disorder. My God doesn’t just dominate situations. Rather the loving Creator comes beside me and dwells in relationship. There is so much FREEDOM there! Freedom to cry and have God weep with you, freedom to ask God questions, and freedom to accept that peace and presence are sufficient answers. My life doesn’t have to be close to perfect for me to know that my God’s love for me is perfect. In this I am freed to be careless in the care of God. …Read more
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? “ -Matthew 6:26 Do we genuinely believe that God does what He says He will do? Do we think He will come through and provide for our needs? Most of us would say that we do. We trust Him and believe His word is true; but then we are tested in that. Maybe our bank account is low and we wonder how we will pay the next bill because another unexpected bill came up. We begin to stress out and worry; and our faith wavers in the storm. The truth is that God does provide for our needs. The problem is that we want more. When more doesn’t satisfy we want even more. And we sit back and consider that God might have lied to us. Why haven’t we received that promotion? Why can’t we get pregnant? Why can’t we buy a bigger house? Why did we get passed up on that job? And on and on. We analyze life and we see unmet expectations. We wonder if God meant what He said. If I honestly look …Read more
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? The words of the fictional character, Hubbell Gardner*, came to mind as I read Matthew 6:26. In a way, he was like the country he lived in. Everything came too easily to him, but at least he knew it. Strange? Perhaps. But on further examination it’s not so strange. While a bird may not store grain in a barn, the bird is industrious and uses everything that nature has provided. In some ways things come easily to the bird. Grains, the materials for building a nest, water, even protection from other birds and animals are naturally occurring. Yes, some of us provide food, water, and shelter for the birds, but these are an unexpected bonus. Because nature provides could it be everything came too easily? People of faith, too, are industrious and work with what is provided and the truly industrious even multiple it. Hardships, disappointment and loss are part of life. Still the Lord provides. He provides in many ways: found money when you could really use some, …Read more
For the Birds When I think of birds, probably the last thing I think about is them being rich. Seriously, who would ever associate monetary well-being with these winged creatures. Do they have a socio-economic hierarchy that escapes us? And if they did, what would they rank themselves on, the size of their nest? Perhaps there is a delicacy of worms that humans are unfamiliar with. Could you imagine a television show dedicated to the finer feathered families, “Flights of the Rich and Famous.” I digress. My attempt to make this preposterous illustration is a segue for a Biblical truth that has never been more important than it is today. Our culture, our world seems to revolve around money. More importantly, in an attempt to satisfy our desires, we seek financial well-being as the vehicle. We long to be rich. For some, our longing for richness is loud and boisterous, for others, it is secretive and unspoken. Either way, Jesus knew this to be true, but here’s the curious part. Why did Jesus use birds as an example when teaching us about money? “Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the …Read more
