A guest post by Jon Acuff
In Matthew 6:26, Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air. He intones that “they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
It’s a powerful passage about worry and the future. I’ve written about it before and will write about it again, but something new recently struck me.
Have you ever thought about how common birds are?
We have some in our backyard, and they sing all day and most of the night. They are in the bushes and the trees and the grass and the everywhere.
You probably have birds near your house, too. You can find them on every continent. In fact, scientists estimate there are 200 to 400 billion birds on the planet.
Have you ever thought about the kindness of Jesus, using birds as his example?
He could have picked the clouded snow leopard. There are less than 10,000 of them.
Or the Javan Rhino. There are only 60 or so of those.
Or the hairy-nosed wombat. There are only about 120 of those.
He could have picked any rare animal in the world, but he didn’t. Instead, he picks one that blankets the planet. One you’d find in Antarctica or hundreds of miles out to sea. One you’ll see in the city or the suburbs, the desert or the jungle.
He picked one that’s everywhere.
Why?
Because that’s where God’s love for you is too.
Look at the birds.