“Jesus said, ‘So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t
life more than food and the body more than clothes?
LOOK at the birds…”
Matthew 6:25-26
Jesus was out in the countryside on a high grassy hillside with a great view of the Sea of
Galilee. This had not been a publicized event, with spotlights, cameras, or even chairs. He just seemed to enjoy getting out of town and taking a breather from the crowds. He clearly found Nature to be His favorite setting to connect with His Father. . . alone.
Of course, somebody told somebody that He was there, and soon a huge crowd of people
headed to see Him. As word began to travel of this “Jesus-Sighting,” they came from
everywhere. From His high place beside the sea, according to experts on sound, the acoustics would have been amazing.
God’s people had a rough life under the brutal rule of Roman occupation. Nobody was “safe.”
That kind of life changes you. You never know when you’re being watched, or being reported to the authorities. The dangers were part of everyday life, and you never knew when or what might happen at any moment. “Normal” was danger and fear. “Worry” was like breathing.
Whatever brief reprieve Jesus probably needed was not going to happen. Not on this day. And He used the situation to speak into the lives of the people sitting on that mountainside
overlooking the Sea. It was a huge crowd. And it would be quite certain that their “Occupiers”were becoming aware.
Jesus’ words were not only good, but needed. “Stop worrying” is not easy for people living in a constant situation of danger. It affects everything in your life. There is no “safe place.” There is no certainty of what danger may come to you or your family. How do you even sleep at night?
In that setting, Jesus used common things of everyday life to remind these traumatized people that their God was Present. He was with them. He is involved in even the most “insignificant” details of their lives. Everybody could see a bird everyday, anywhere, whether a Roman soldier was standing there or not. God uses small things in our lives to remind us of His Presence, His care, His knowledge of what was and what is and what is to come.
If His Eye is on the needs of a sparrow. . . He’s absolutely got His Eye on you.
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