parables

He Watches Sparrows

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Matthew 10:29

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In Jesus’ day sparrows were common and held value only for what brief use anyone might have of them. Sometimes I have wondered, why Jesus tells us that God watches sparrows. After all God is everywhere and He also watches eagles, lions and even alligators (We have 1.3 million of them in Florida)! But unlike animals with talons, claws and teeth, sparrows have no offensive weapons. Instead their only hope is that in the moment of danger they will fly to safety. 

Have you ever felt like a sparrow? Apparently many of Jesus’ listeners did. They had been oppressed by Romans, exploited by their own religious leaders and despised by the rich. But when Jesus came they hung on His every word because He was someone who loved to spend time with them and who invited them to come to Him. Have you ever considered that God also loves spending time with you so much that He sent His own Son with the invitation to share eternity with Him. That is an invitation without an expiration date because the God who watches sparrows also He watches you and me.

Hidden Treasure

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“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44

Why does Jesus say that God’s message is a hidden mystery? It is all around us like air but we only find it like this man did when we are looking. He didn’t just trip over the treasure accidentally. The story Jesus tells says he found it hidden then hid it again sold all he had and bought the field.

Today if we are looking for Him we can find Christ in the secret place of prayer. If we listen and hide in our heart what he tells us we are motivated to action. Is what we have heard and believed more precious than anything else? If so God’s greatest treasure can be ours today and forever!

The Farmer and the Harvest

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Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8

When we were looking at those seed catalogue it is interesting to remember that each variety in the book was accompanied by a photograph but it was not of the seed, it was always of luscious melons, red ripe tomatoes or deep green broccoli. No one was ever much wanted to see shriveled up corn kernels, dried beans or tiny carrot seeds. In the same way the heavenly Father sends people out to our hearts to plant the seeds, But it doesn’t really matter much how the sermon looks or how the hymn sounds because it is only the seed. What God is looking for is a harvest.

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Of all people perhaps the farmer’s work requires the most faith. He begins his plans in winter when snow drifts are still filling his fields. He plows in early spring never knowing when the weather will be warm enough for planting. He plants his seed in the soil and waits because he has one all he can do. Unless God sends the right amount of rain, warmth and sunshine his crops will never grow. Then each summer as the Lord permits the farmer harvests goes to market to get the best price he can for purchasing all his family’s needs for the year plus new tools and seed so he can start it all over again next year!

 

God chooses to do the work of the farmer in our own lives. He sees us when we are as cold and hard as a snow filled field. Then He sends workers day after day, month after month and sometimes year after year to break up the field of our hearts for planting. Last He sent His son to die on the cross and fall like a grain of wheat into the ground of our hearts. And God does all that He does in hope that the most precious of all seeds which He has planted in us will grow strong and pure in our hearts to yield an eternal harvest of life!