You Are Worth More Than Sparrows - Matthew 10:26-30
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Reflection: Fear can be a powerful motivator and it can also be debilitating. One of the obstacles we will all face in this life is some type of fear. Fear of failure is one of the biggest inhibitors of realizing our potential as human beings and children of God. In the passage today, as Jesus is continuing to teach his disciples how they should respond to the pressure and persecution they will most certainly face as they seek to bring God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, he puts fear into the proper perspective. He says, "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." Then he reminds them that God loves and cares for them, and even the hairs on their head are numbered (even if that number is declining for some of us!)
So if Matthew is inferring that the only One we fear should be God, what does that mean and what does that look like? You will probably notice when you wake up in the middle of the night and have a lot of anxiety and fear (the two are closely related) it is usually not centered on God. It is usually centered on a relationship with another person, or some task we are being called to do and there is a fear of failure or public humiliation, which we all fear the most. But usually these fears have nothing to do with honoring God or fearing Him in the sense of keeping His name holy by what we do or say. That is why earlier in Matthew 6:33, Matthew said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."
So since this is true for most of us, how can we move to fearing the right person, God? And how? I think there are two practical ways to change our orientation towards fear. One the more time we spend with God and the more consciously we maintain our contact with God, the more likely we will have our fears appropriately placed. As we abide in Jesus' presence, we are transformed through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) and begin to think God's thoughts after Him. All fear starts in our minds with a negative thought! It is what we do with that thought that is most important.
Second and I already referred to it, is this idea of praying unceasingly. Most of us read that verse and think it is impossible to do, after all I can't sit around and pray all day. But what if we were to take Jesus' admonition figuratively rather literally. What if we had an attitude of prayer and a reliance on prayer to maintain a constant contact with God and His presence and peace. What do I mean? For instance you start your day and something happens that bothers you. You now have a choice. Stew on it and get all anxious, or take it right away to God in prayer and surrender it to him. How about every time you feel fear take it to God and remind yourself of the truth from the bible "perfect love casts out all fear!" I think if we would try these types of practices we could get closer to the notion of praying unceasingly. Why don't you try and see if it works!?
Jesus thank you for giving to us and modeling for us the gift of prayer. Oh the peace we often forfeit because we don't take it to The Lord in prayer. God when we are tempted to fear things in the world more than you bring us to our knees back to the One who is all powerful who knows even the number of hairs on our heads! Amen.
Reflection: Fear can be a powerful motivator and it can also be debilitating. One of the obstacles we will all face in this life is some type of fear. Fear of failure is one of the biggest inhibitors of realizing our potential as human beings and children of God. In the passage today, as Jesus is continuing to teach his disciples how they should respond to the pressure and persecution they will most certainly face as they seek to bring God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, he puts fear into the proper perspective. He says, "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." Then he reminds them that God loves and cares for them, and even the hairs on their head are numbered (even if that number is declining for some of us!)
So if Matthew is inferring that the only One we fear should be God, what does that mean and what does that look like? You will probably notice when you wake up in the middle of the night and have a lot of anxiety and fear (the two are closely related) it is usually not centered on God. It is usually centered on a relationship with another person, or some task we are being called to do and there is a fear of failure or public humiliation, which we all fear the most. But usually these fears have nothing to do with honoring God or fearing Him in the sense of keeping His name holy by what we do or say. That is why earlier in Matthew 6:33, Matthew said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."
So since this is true for most of us, how can we move to fearing the right person, God? And how? I think there are two practical ways to change our orientation towards fear. One the more time we spend with God and the more consciously we maintain our contact with God, the more likely we will have our fears appropriately placed. As we abide in Jesus' presence, we are transformed through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) and begin to think God's thoughts after Him. All fear starts in our minds with a negative thought! It is what we do with that thought that is most important.
Second and I already referred to it, is this idea of praying unceasingly. Most of us read that verse and think it is impossible to do, after all I can't sit around and pray all day. But what if we were to take Jesus' admonition figuratively rather literally. What if we had an attitude of prayer and a reliance on prayer to maintain a constant contact with God and His presence and peace. What do I mean? For instance you start your day and something happens that bothers you. You now have a choice. Stew on it and get all anxious, or take it right away to God in prayer and surrender it to him. How about every time you feel fear take it to God and remind yourself of the truth from the bible "perfect love casts out all fear!" I think if we would try these types of practices we could get closer to the notion of praying unceasingly. Why don't you try and see if it works!?
Jesus thank you for giving to us and modeling for us the gift of prayer. Oh the peace we often forfeit because we don't take it to The Lord in prayer. God when we are tempted to fear things in the world more than you bring us to our knees back to the One who is all powerful who knows even the number of hairs on our heads! Amen.
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