Look at the Sparrows
March 13, 2009

"Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:6-7

Do you ever question your value? Doubt your worth? Do you sometimes look up at the sky and ask if God really loves you?

God knows how much we struggle with a proper self-esteem. He knows that in the midst of a world that idolizes beauty, strength, riches, and fame, it is hard to remember that each one of us is made in God’s image, and is the recipient of his unfathomable love.

That is why God gave us the sparrows.

The most common of all birds, sparrows can be found in country lanes and on city streets, casting a bright eye on the rich and the poor, fluttering past the windows of the healthy and the ill, singing sweetly to the famous and the forgotten.

And God said: “Look at the sparrows. They are so common that most people overlook them – but I never do. I know each feather of each bird, see every fledgling leave the nest, and hear every chirp and twitter. If I do that for the commonest of birds, how much more do you think I am concerned about you: you who are made in my image, you whom I sent my Son to die for, you whom I am preparing heaven for? Never fear! Look at the sparrows and remember your worth, remember your value … and remember that I love you.”

• Do you struggle with having an appropriate sense of self-worth or self-esteem? If so, why?
  
• Are there certain times when your sense of self-worth plummets? Under what circumstances does that happen? Why?
  
• What image can you fix in your mind – perhaps a sparrow, perhaps something more personal to you – that can help you remember your true value and the love God has for you?