URC Daily Devotion Saturday 13 December 2025

Jesus said: “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. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  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.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows..”

Reflection

God values and cares for each one of us. Those fond of sparrows may object to Jesus valuing them so much less than human beings. The balding may struggle to understand how God could possibly keep track of their depleting thatch. But Jesus appears to be teaching an important truth by contrasting the lesser with the greater. If even a sparrow does not fall to the ground without our heavenly Father knowing about it; if even the very hairs on one’s head are counted: how much more does God care for each one of us, body and soul. It is not necessary to take falling sparrows and numbered hairs literally to understand the lesser-to-greater argument that Jesus is using.
  
The reassuring truth that God values and cares for each one of us would have been vitally important to the first hearers and readers of Matthew’s Gospel. It would have strengthened the faith of Christians who were facing persecution. Strengthening in faith is just as relevant for Christians who suffer persecution today, as well as for those spared persecution but liable to complacency.
 
The truth that God values and cares for each one of us expresses a belief in God’s providence. Providence is all that God does to sustain and direct Creation to its good purpose. Nothing is too small or seemingly insignificant – neither sparrows nor hairs – to contribute to that greater good purpose. This does not imply that God micro-manages everything; it implies that everything, both lesser and greater, is included in God’s providential care and woven into God’s redemptive story.

The New Zealand hymnwriter, Colin Gibson, puts a similar idea into poetry: 

Nothing is lost on the breath of God
No feather too light, no hair too fine,

no flower too brief in its glory,
no drop in the ocean, no dust in the air,
but is counted and told in God’s story. 
 

(Faith Forever Singing, 50, © Colin Gibson)

Prayer

O God, your complete knowledge is wonderful.
Your sustaining love is awe-inspiring.
Help us to trust in your care and good purpose
revealed by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen