Are not five sparrows sold for two cents?
Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
The very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
– Luke 12:6-7
It was not a sparrow but a junco huddled on the concrete.
Juncos are one of the little winter bird species that populate our area. Nondescript in color, their cheerful banter around the bird feeder nevertheless enlivens the gray days until spring arrives once again.
Yesterday I happened outside to discover one of the juncos had fallen prey to our black cat, Dawn, who hunts with such relish we should have named her “Killer.” The poor little bird was badly wounded but had flopped to a corner of the basketball court in a feeble effort to escape. Killer sat nearby, enjoying the spectacle with smug satisfaction.
If I had left the bird for the cat to finish, it soon would have been mercifully over for the junco. But I couldn’t stand to watch the cat toy with it; I just had to intervene. I locked up the cat for a while to see if the bird would recover on its own. When it was obvious it couldn’t fly, I put it in a box and set it in a safe place away from the cats.
The junco died in the night, witnessed only by God.
This morning I removed the little body, struck by its tiny insignificance. Neither its life nor its passing affected the world in the least. Yet God knew and cared. If He does not forget the smallest of creatures, how much more must He care for the crown of His creation.
Even this one little bird testified to the beauty of creation and the Creator. In its death, we are reminded of the sorrow humanity’s rebellion brought upon all God’s world.
That God would speak so much through one small life should give us hope to go on.
Do not fear. You are not forgotten. You are more valuable than many juncos. You belong to a God who dresses the lilies, feeds the ravens, remembers the sparrows, names the stars, and counts every hair on your head. Not one detail of your life has escaped Him. He loves you fiercely. He has a plan for you, and He asks for your trust.
Believe.
Do not be afraid, little flock,
for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
– Luke 12:32
