The Fallen Blue Jay and God's Care
May 02, 2024
Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash
There was a little blue jay lying lifeless on the ground when I went out to feed my chickens this morning. While I could not tell him apart from the other jays that I feed and enjoy watching, I was reminded that my Heavenly Father knew him personally.
My dog sniffed him curiously and I was sad.
That blue jay had not spent one moment of his life worrying about anything. He probably had not seen death coming. He was pretty much always in the moment.
I like to think I know my own motives and that worry, and the cares of life do not occupy too much of my mind’s real estate.
The truth is, I need some growth.
Jesus’ teaching on the mount continues with the discourse where he connects our worries to our ultimate values. He challenges us to be more connected to value than fear of loss and to examine our motives.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. 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 can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
What motivates you?
What energizes your imagination and activates your soul?
Are you paralyzed by the fear that you will not be able to provide the necessities of life for yourself and your family?
Are you enslaved by the need to move forward economically or to build earthly security?
God cares for His own, for birds and lilies, and people who seek Him. His kingdom and His righteousness are of such great value that nothing else compares with them.
Our task is to check in with what motivates us as we make important decisions and view the realities of life.
By keeping first things first, we can eliminate the need to juggle multiple priorities or to fret over things that ultimately perish.