[When available, audio recordings of these devotions are posted at http://www.redeemerclc.info/audio-devotions]
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Luke 12:24, 32 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ... Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
DON'T WORRY, CHILDREN OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER
Said the robin to the sparrow, "I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin, "Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father, Such as cares for you and me."
-- Unknown Author
Jesus bids us think about God's provision for some of the other creatures He has made. If they have no cause for worry (and they don't), how much less reason do we have to fear God will somehow forget to provide for our daily needs. For He has placed a far higher value upon the descendants of Adam and Eve than upon any of His feathered creatures. Jesus says so. And Jesus made it so at the cross.
For we were not redeemed with gold or silver (a fairly small amount of which will purchase most any bird) but with the holy, precious blood and with the innocent suffering and death of the eternal Son of God. "How much more valuable you are than birds!" The exclamation point at the end of that sentence is written in the blood of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus refers to those who trust in Him as a "little flock", He's using the picture of sheep, not birds -- for sheep have a shepherd who cares for them and so do we. Furthermore, as Jesus here reminds us, when the heavenly Father, through the working of the Spirit, makes His Son the King of our hearts, He makes us members of His own family. "You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26).
He who provides for the daily needs of robins and sparrows will not fail to meet the needs of His own children, children whom He elected in eternity and then redeemed with the life-blood of His Son.
