Letters to the Family of God

by Joe Franzone | January 30, 2025 | Pastor's Blog

Family of God - Website (600 × 282 px)
1.30

The Common Swift

January 30, 2025

 

Look at the birds of the air…

 

Matthew 6:26

 

 

Are you disappointed, wondering here and there,

Dragging chains of doubt and loaded down with care?

Do unholy feelings struggle in your breast?

Bring your case to Jesus, He will give you rest.

 

Come Unto Me,

by Charles Jones (1865-1949)

 

 

Off work in the morning

And up at the crack of dawn

All my money worries

Wherever I go come along

… Worry is a bully

That just won't let me be

Trying to keep me busy

Tussling and struggling

 

Going Gets Tough

The Growlers

Dear friends.

 

It’s been some time since these letters have gone out. Nevertheless, here we are!

 

Look At The Birds

 

When Jesus Christ preached to the listening crowds, He told them not to worry about their life. He followed this by saying, look at the birds.

 

He did not tell them to look at farmers, or Caesar, or the Roman Senate. He did not tell them to look at charts, tables, projections, and productivity efficiencies available on some level, even in the ancient world. He did not tell them to look at themselves. But Jesus did tell the crowds listening to look at the birds—birds!

 

John Stott, in his book The Birds Our Teachers, writes on this:

It was Jesus Christ Himself in the sermon on the mount who told us to be bird watchers! So, we have the highest possible authority for this activity.

 

Moreover, he meant more than that we should notice them. The Greek verb employed here means to fix the eyes on or take a good look at. This will certainly include our study and appreciation of their plumage and behavior.

Amazing. Jesus, the one who all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge can be found (Colossians 2:3), taught, actually gave as a command (In Greek, it's written in the imperative) when it comes to life's necessities, look at the birds! The birds are our teachers.

 

The Birds Our Teachers

 

The Common Swift is a small bird that can spend ten months in the air without landing. A few years ago, the New York Times had a splendid little article on this splendid little bird. Flying for 10 Months Without a Layover is the title.

 

It is a beautiful read. I’ve mentioned it before. Please consider giving it a look, because it will help us to follow the teachings of Jesus and let the birds be our teachers.

 

Martin Luther wrote on this:

You see, He is making the birds our school pastors and teachers. It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the gospel, a helpless Sparrow should become a theologian and a preacher to the wisest of men…Whenever you listen to a Nightingale, therefore, you are listening to an excellent preacher... it is as if he were saying, ‘I prefer to be in the Lord's kitchen.’ He has made heaven and earth, and He Himself is the cook and the host. Every day, He feeds and nourishes innumerable little birds out of His hand.

Loved ones, we have all kinds of resources that may benefit us and promise to decrease our worry about life. Some are helpful and have their place. We thank God for them. However, Jesus has the highest place. It’s always wise to begin with Him and frame our thinking in light of Him.

 

Here, He simply says, don’t worry about your life; look at the birds; birds are our teachers. When we do, Jesus expects us to find a loving Father who has charged Himself to lovingly and generously provide for His Children.

 

There is no part of our life or, indeed, of the entire universe that is outside God’s concern. Therefore, the Christian brings to life a winsome sense of hope, a sense of responsibility, and a sense of joy. Indeed, a warm, cheerful, expectant, and humane, ‘we are our brothers and sisters keepers’ kind of life, which is fitting for children loved so well by God.

 

Take heart, live well, trust your God, and look at the birds. In the realm of our daily needs, they are our teachers.

 

 

With all my love in the Lord Jesus Christ,

Pastor Joe