Living Without Fear.
"The key to freedom from all fear and worry is found in two words -- sparrows and hair. Remember what I said in Matthew 10:28-33. 'One of them (sparrows) shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered'" (verses 29-30).
It sounds so elementary, so very simple -- but what Jesus tells us here is very profound.
I did a study on sparrows and hair. And soon I began to get a revelation of David's immense Creator God, who was interested in every tiny detail of His creation!
Sparrows - God's Little Messengers.
Sparrows! There are 9,000 species of birds, and out of all them, Jesus referred to the sparrow. In America alone there are 35 kinds of sparrows. In Jesus' day, the term "sparrow" described all small land birds.
These delicate birds are recognized for their music, some warbling as many as 22 different tunes. There are song sparrows, larks, vesper sparrows, white-throated sparrows -- all names having to do with music.
Like all birds, sparrows are wonderfully made. Their thin, small bones are strong and specially equipped for flying. Modern science still cannot copy the intricate wing system that allows them to migrate two and three-thousand miles. Each sparrow has from 1,300 to 2,600 feathers. How intricate and detailed they are! Our Creator God designed them perfectly. He designed every bone, every feather -- and He counted every one of them.
Most sparrows build their nests in the ground -- and in Christ's time they were trapped with trip nets into which they fell while preparing their nests. In Jerusalem Jesus saw sparrows being sold on a skewer, two for a penny. They had all been trapped with trip nets because Jews could not eat those that died by themselves.
Of these birds Jesus said, "Not one of them was trapped without My Father's knowledge." He knew where each one of them was until its little lungs took their last breath. He fed them. He knew every sparrow -- even those on the skewers!
Hair -- A Symbol of God's
Intricate Care For His Children.
Hair! Every hair on our heads is counted by our Father in heaven. Between 100,000 and 150,000 hairs blanket the human head. Even those who are bald still have the vellus variety hair which is unseen by the human eye! God made hair useful, not just for the sake of appearance. Hair on our heads is for insulation during summer and winter. Our eyebrows keep sweat out of our eyes, and eyelashes protect our eyelids when dust or tiny insects get too near. Tiny hairs in the ears and nostrils filter incoming air of particles. The hair in the armpits helps reduce friction while we walk.
What a marvelous and intricate thing a hair is. If we could know what an awesome creation a hair is, how full of life, we would never doubt that God numbers what He has created.
Every hair is a cylinder of cells that has tunneled deep into the skin to reach the blood vessels that nourish it. Every hair has muscle, nerves and glands. If you even lightly touch the top of your head, your hairs nerves will alert your brain, and you'll feel it!
Look in an encyclopedia and find a drawing of a single human hair. A cross section reveals many different rings. These rings of tissue surrounding the trunk, which is surrounded as well by nerve collars. It maintains a cuticle, medulla, cortex, papilla and root sheath. A small cluster of glands drains into every hair. Melanin produces the hair's color. It is deposited in growing hair. God put an incredible color factory in the scalp. And, left alone, hair can grow to 25 feet in a life-time!
It's no wonder David said, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . . that, my soul knoweth right well" (Psalm 139:14).
In the passage in Matthew about sparrows and hair, Jesus was teaching the disciples not to fear. He had created every sparrow, formed every human body and numbered every hair. "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth... All things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17). But the disciples still did not understand. Oh, how Jesus must have longed to take them into such intricacies -- of how He made the wings and bones of the sparrows and how He designed the hair. No mere carpenter could figure it all out -- all of it so fearful and amazing!
He could have said, "Peter, what if I told you that you have 127,550 hairs on your head, 162 in your right eyebrow and 165 in your left. You have 165 hair follicles in your nostrils, 306 in your left ear and 319 in your right! Your beard is made up of 33,980 hair follicles. Now, since you know I have numbered every hair on your head, won't you trust Me with every detail of your life? Won't you believe that I know every step you take?"
What if He had said to James, "Beloved James, did you know there are 2,396,000,065 sparrows on the earth as of yesterday? In the last 24 hours 2,000,603 died a natural death and 986,152 are trapped or killed. In Jerusalem's marketplace today, there are 2,950 for sale.
"Not one falls to the ground without the knowledge of your Father in heaven. Knowing this, will you now be "careful for nothing"? Will you now trust Me to take care of all your needs? Will you now give no thought as to what you shall eat or drink? Will you now believe that your heavenly Father knows what you need and will gladly supply It? Will you now trust Him to house you, feed you, clothe you?"
Trust God with all your heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment