“His Eye is on the Sparrow…”

I have decided to make this Spring my “spring” into nature – the  nature of birds that is. My daughter is kind of amusing me with her new found love of bird watching, and I love being with her and sharing her interests, so… I am going to learn how to watch birds.

That’s what you do in relationships when you want to know and be with the people you love. This can certainly be true in a God relationship. If you say you love Jesus, you want to be with Him and learn as much about the things He loves as you can. Through prayer and spiritual disciplines like reading The Bible, attending church, giving  resources and visiting or caring for the sick. What He wants you to do, you want to do, because it builds the relationship.

I am really enjoying this new activity with my daughter. She has brought me a book from the library about watching and feeding birds. It warms my heart to see the turnabout in our relationship. I used to be the one who took her to the library and tried to spark her interests in learning new things. Now, she is helping me to do this.

Want to keep building your brain? Learn something new. Want to build a relationship, share something new that you are learning. Bible reading and study times are times when I sit down, with my copy of His Word and a notebook,  a dictionary  or concordance, (aka iphone and ipad), my favorite pen and pray for the Holy Spirit  to open my eyes and heart to what He wants to teach me. He never disappoints.

Did you know that many birds can’t smell very well?  Neither did I. Maybe that’s why eating worms is no problem. They like their bird baths really clean. I can make my own nectar for my hummingbird feeder. All this I did not know. But I did know that Jesus told us to look at the birds. To consider that they don’t plant their foods or reap a harvest. Yet they are fed by God, and we mean so much more to Him than they. (Matthew 6:26).

I could go on and on about sparrows. David, in Psalm 102:7, compares himself to a “sparrow alone upon the housetop,” as he laments in distress to the God he gave his heart to. Sparrows, in the Bible, are like the smallest, most insignificant of the fowl family. Luke 12:6 says that five of them are sold for a mere two farthings, yet the most significant words of that verse tell us we are of more value than many of them. That not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing it. I picture the skies full of them as they fly overhead, yet each and every one of them is known by God. And each and every one of us is known and loved by God.

I can’t look at a bird the same way now. Knowledge does this to us. It is a like a light that shines on the subject we’re studying and reveals a whole new world of interesting, incredible truths about it. The Bible is like a light, Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” I want to know my steps are not in the dark. Seems like the best way to avoid pitfalls and problems, don’t you agree?

I still have a lot to learn about birds, and even more to learn about God things. I truly believe we can never fully know everything about Him. Have you ever seen a nest of hungry baby birds when their mother returns with food?  The baby birds tilt their heads back and open wide.  I’ve learned that this behavior is a reflex they have to open wide and receive the food they so desperately need to survive and grow.  I need to open my mind and heart wide for what the Spirit is trying to teach me in order to grow more into the image of Jesus.

Sometimes I can feel even smaller and more insignificant than a sparrow, but I am encouraged that I am of precious value to God. And so are you. His Word shines a light in my heart of that truth. Over one hundred years ago a young woman wrote a song inspired by the tiny sparrow. I wonder if she was a bird watcher? I can imagine her listening to the birds sing and noticing how they don’t seem to have a care in the world.

“His Eye is On the Sparrow” by Civilla D. Martin

Published 1905

Why should I feel discouraged

Why should the shadows come

Why should my heart feel lonely And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion A constant friend is He

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches over me

His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me

I sing because I’m happy

I sing because I’m free

His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me

His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me