“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:6-7 (NIV)
When did you feel forgotten by God? How did it make you feel? Were you really forgotten? Since sparrows are important to God, how important are people? What does that mean about how we treat people?
In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus mentions that two sparrows are sold for a penny. Here he talks about five sparrows being sold for two pennies. Sparrows were the animals poor people could afford to buy for sacrifices. The rich people bought doves, and lambs, and other things that cost more, but the rich would never buy a sparrow. Sparrows were so insignificant that if four sparrows were bought a fifth was thrown in for free.
Jesus is saying that the sparrow that is thrown in, the left over sparrow, the sparrow not even worth half a penny matters to God. Then Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
This worth did not come from what we have made of ourselves. It did not arrive because we worked hard for it. Our worth comes from God because God loves us! Perhaps it is too simple to believe. We still try to come up with reasons why we can be considered important, or at least more important than others. We still take others for granted and fail to see the worth in them that God sees. We still dwell on our faults far more than our strengths.
Yes perhaps it is easier to believe in a God who requires us to make ourselves worthy, after all that is the way the world sees us. What would the church look like if it were a place where people rejoiced in others because God’s love makes them worthy? I do not know, but I am going to pray that I find out.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Showing posts with label worth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worth. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thursday, May 20, 2010
In Whose Hands
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
”Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word…” – Luke 2:25-29 (NRSV)
Why was Simeon so happy? Where did he place his faith? Do you believe in the promises of God the same way? What happens to those who place their trust in the Lord?
I once heard something about how the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in. For instance in my hand a basketball is about $20, in LeBron James’ hand that same basketball is suddenly worth millions. In my hands a tennis racquet is worth $60, in Roger Federer’s hands it is suddenly worth millions.
Or for a different kind of example in my hands 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish are 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I put those same things into Jesus’ hands and it suddenly can feed 5000 people to satisfaction with leftovers! You get the point, the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in.
The same is true of life. In our own hands our lives are in shambles, and we are walking messes. When we try to go about controlling our own lives and destinies with all the intensity we can muster, we still look in the mirror and wonder why we feel so empty and without value. And maybe in the midst of that emptiness we can hear God’s voice softly saying, “Let me hold you and you will know you are the most precious thing ever.” And if we can’t hear it, God is still saying it.
Maybe Simeon once heard that voice, and if he did he listened. He let God hold him and thereby believed in the promises of God. Simeon could have been an old, tired and bitter man, but instead he was a hopeful and anticipating individual who was able to leave the world in peace. We will know peace when we are in the hands of God and discover that we are of infinite worth in those loving hands. And who knows, maybe one day, like Simeon, we will get to hold our God in our hands.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Why was Simeon so happy? Where did he place his faith? Do you believe in the promises of God the same way? What happens to those who place their trust in the Lord?
I once heard something about how the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in. For instance in my hand a basketball is about $20, in LeBron James’ hand that same basketball is suddenly worth millions. In my hands a tennis racquet is worth $60, in Roger Federer’s hands it is suddenly worth millions.
Or for a different kind of example in my hands 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish are 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I put those same things into Jesus’ hands and it suddenly can feed 5000 people to satisfaction with leftovers! You get the point, the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in.
The same is true of life. In our own hands our lives are in shambles, and we are walking messes. When we try to go about controlling our own lives and destinies with all the intensity we can muster, we still look in the mirror and wonder why we feel so empty and without value. And maybe in the midst of that emptiness we can hear God’s voice softly saying, “Let me hold you and you will know you are the most precious thing ever.” And if we can’t hear it, God is still saying it.
Maybe Simeon once heard that voice, and if he did he listened. He let God hold him and thereby believed in the promises of God. Simeon could have been an old, tired and bitter man, but instead he was a hopeful and anticipating individual who was able to leave the world in peace. We will know peace when we are in the hands of God and discover that we are of infinite worth in those loving hands. And who knows, maybe one day, like Simeon, we will get to hold our God in our hands.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
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