Genesis 31:17-32:12
Matthew 10:24-11:6
Psalm 13:1-6
Proverbs 3:16-18
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." - Mt 10:29
I always understood this verse to mean that because God provided for the sparrows, He would provide for me as well. Today I read it and saw something else entirely: the verse doesn't say the sparrows don't fall to the ground - it says they will. And it says it happens on God's watch. And yet, He says, "don't be afraid". Is that possible?
It is. In the morning, my wife and I are going to a wake, to remember a woman the fruit of whose life has been such a blessing to us. She was old, and she'd been ill, and she knew death was approaching. Yet not only was she unafraid, her daughter told us she was joyful in her final days, singing many hymns interspersed with some Frank Sinatra. She knew that even then she was not outside her Father's care.
Hers is not the only story like this I've heard. My parents have told me a few stories of friends who have awaited their passing from this earth with such joy and anticipation. These friends - they loved their families, their sons and daughters, but they loved God more, and so were prepared to go home to Him even if it meant leaving earthly family behind.
Jesus calls us to acknowledge Him. Acknowledgement requires that we know who Someone is, and recognize that They are present. I want to learn to acknowledge Jesus - to know who He is, to know He is here with me. And I want to learn to approach not just the end of my days on earth, but each day that I have before then, unafraid, knowing I am in His care.
Father, as the psalmist prayed, "give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death". Give light to my eyes, and teach me to "trust in Your unfailing love", so that "my heart rejoices in Your salvation" every day, whatever my condition, whatever my situation.
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