Posted on 08/26/2016 8:00:16 AM PDT by metmom
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26).
If God provides for the birds, how much more will He provide for you.
I can imagine our Lord standing on a hillside in Galilee, looking down over the beautiful north end of the sea, the breeze rippling across the water, the sun bright in the sky. The people were all gathered at His feet. As He was speaking to them, some birds might have flown across the sky.
Our Lord gives life to every bird of the sky and also sustains each one. He doesnt say to the birds, I have given you life; now you figure out how to keep it. And birds dont get together and say, We have to come up with a strategy to keep ourselves alive. Birds have no self-consciousness, no cognitive processes, no ability to reason. But God has given them an instinct so that they have a divine capacity to find what is necessary to live. God doesnt just create lifeHe also sustains it.
In Matthew 6:26 Jesus asked the people, Are you not worth much more than [the birds]? He was arguing from the lesser to the greater. No bird was ever created in the image of God or designed to be a joint-heir with Christ throughout eternity. Jesus was saying, If God sustains the life of a bird (the lesser), dont you think He will take care of you (the greater)? Gods provision, of course, is no excuse for mans laziness. A bird has to work for its food, and you have to work for yours. Thats because God has designed that man should eat bread by the sweat of his face (cf. Gen. 3:19). If you dont work, you dont eat (cf. 2 Thess. 3:10). Just as God provides for the bird through its instinct, so God will provide for you through your effort.
Suggestions for Prayer
When you see the birds of the air, remind yourself of the Lords teaching, and thank Him for His faithfulness to you.
For Further Study
Read Psalm 104, which tells of Gods care over all His creation.
Studying God’s Word ping
Great post.
This is timely for me as well.
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