Lesson from the Sparrow

I sat in my yard and watched a sparrow hop around looking for seeds.  Her head was hardly higher than the blades of grass that surrounded her.  She was tiny, fragile, and vulnerable.  Yet she had plenty.

Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus delivered a famous speech we now call “The Sermon on the Mount.”  It was written down by one of his closest followers, a government worker named Matthew.

In it he addresses the topic of worry and anxiety:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

In another speech (recorded by a doctor named Luke) Jesus said something similar:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

This sparrow in my yard was not a fool.  Had I so much as stood up she would have flown away to avoid danger.  Yet, I sensed no anxiety in her.  She did not look worried or even fearful as she confidently pecked away at her meal.

Picture from Wikipedia

We are so quick to worry.  We fear what our future will look like despite the fact that none of us will ever be in the future.

God is watching over you.  This does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen to you.  In fact, if you are following Jesus you are pretty much guaranteed to have trouble as He clearly stated, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  The comfort is that you do no need to be anxious.  You do not need to worry.  God is in control, “and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Yet perhaps you are not convinced.  If the wisdom of Jesus and the writings of His early followers is not enough to get you to stop worrying, then look at your own life.  Reflect on the times you have worried.  Remember walking around with that ball of fear in your chest that made you feel sick.  Did all that anxiety help?  If so, then by all means, continue to be worried and let fear improve your life.  If not, perhaps you should listen to Jesus and take a lesson from the sparrow.

Well His eye's on the sparrow
And the lilies of the field I've heard
And He will watch over you and He will watch over me
So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds

-Rich Mullins

Fall From Grace

Have you ever heard the term “fall from grace?”  It is a term I have heard used in many ways, but it is usually refers to someone who was once well respected or viewed highly and has since been relegated to a lesser state.  This might be because of his own doing (for example a business man who was loved by his boss until he was caught fooling around with his bosses’ wife), or because of political maneuvering (such as an economic advisor whom the president loved until others began to paint him in a bad light), or because of other circumstances.

Believe it or not, “fall from grace,” is a biblical term.  It refers to someone who has fallen to the point where they no longer have anything to do with God.  It is a state relative to God that can lead to nothing but our condemnation, and it is a state that we should avoid at all costs.

Falling from grace is mentioned in a letter that Paul wrote to the church in the region of Galatia in what is modern day Turkey.  The Galatian church was uncertain how much they had to do to earn their own salvation.  They were engaged in the old debate of whether or not Jesus’ saving work on the cross is enough to be saved, or whether or not they had to add to that work through good works on their own.  It is a debate that exists among Christians to this day.

Some say that we are only saved by what Jesus did for us.  Other say that we cannot be saved unless we believe in Jesus and do good works ourselves as outlined in biblical law.

Christ alone = salvation

OR

Christ + our good works = salvation

Which is right?

It is in chapter five of the letter that Paul makes the point clearly when he writes in verse four, “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Justified in the Bible means “to be made righteous in the sight of God.”  Some Galatian Christians were trying to be made right in the eyes of God by following the law (which for them would have been Old Testament rules such as the ten commandments, following ceremonial rules, celebrating certain holidays, and things like that).  They were trying to have a relationship with Christ while trying to earn a relationship with God.

Others recognized that they could not earn justification and accepted God’s gift of salvation freely given through Jesus.

Paul made it clear.  You cannot even try to earn your own salvation and have a relationship with Christ.  You cannot have both Christ’s work on the cross and your own works as a means of justification.  To try to earn your way into heaven is the same thing as separating yourself from Jesus.

We only have two choices to pursue in justification.  The first option is to try on our own to make ourselves right with God.  The other option is to accept Jesus’ free gift given to us.

The good that I do comes out of the freedom that Jesus gave me.  His salvation paves the way for my good works.  My actions do not earn me favor in God’s eyes. Rather, they are done because Jesus has transformed me to be more like Him.

Christ alone is enough for salvation.

Works alone are never enough.

If you try to add your works to Christ’s to earn your way into heaven, you fall away from grace.

Missing out.

I come back to the United States one year out of every five.  During this time I have a number of speaking engagements and get a chance to reconnect with friends and family.  This year, about 25% of my time in the US I have been stuck at home because of this virus.

Yesterday I was talking with my brother about how frustrating it is to be here yet not be able to be here.  I cannot visit people.  Speaking engagements have been canceled.  I have not even left the county since March.

He calmly asked me, “What would you be doing now if you were back in Bulgaria?”

“I would be stuck at home with even tighter restrictions not able to do anything.”

I guess I forgot the “pan” part of pandemic.  Most of the world is in the same situation.  Everyone is missing out on something.