Read: Matthew 6:25-34
Look at the birds . . . Are you not of more value than they? (v. 26)
One reason I love to be with children is because they see the world with fresh eyes. Have you ever watched a small child react with wonder to something the rest of us typically rush past? A dew-strung cobweb or a laboring ant can transfix a child’s attention as if it was an artist’s masterpiece—because, of course, it is.
Jesus often asked people to look at the natural world more closely. When he said, “Look at the birds of the air” (v. 26), birds may have been flying past at that moment. His listeners might have paused right then to watch. When we stop to gaze at birds or any other part of creation, we can see the lesson Jesus is teaching, right in front of us: God has arranged the natural world with care. If that is true, can’t we believe that God also cares for us? Pausing to look at the world is not merely an abstract lesson about the goodness of God, but a practical way to practice slowing down and receiving love from the Creator, who made both us and the wonders all around us.
Take a moment today to obey Jesus’s instruction. Look at the birds of the air, whether by going outside or watching out your window. What do you notice about the way they move? How do you feel when you remember that you are of so much more value to your heavenly Father than they?
As you pray, ask God to help you see new things in his creation.
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
