A bitter sweet memory popped up on my phone this morning. It was a blurry picture of a little girl being trailed by a dog. When we first moved to the little white house with the black shutters, there was a neighborhood dog that adopted us. The dog actually belonged to a family that lived a couple of blocks away, but he was at our house and the house across the street almost daily. I don’t know what the dog‘s actual name was, but my oldest niece, when she was probably three, named him for us. She ended up calling him, My Buddy. Every time she would see him coming, she would put her little hands out and say “Mere, my buddy. Mere, my buddy.” So My Buddy became his name for us.
My Buddy became like one of the family. He was a cocker spaniel that was a mix of golden brown and white. He was an absolute sweetheart, and he loved my niece. He would let her waller all over him and love on him like crazy. He would follow her around if she was out in the yard.
Every summer, my aunt and uncle came to visit for the Fourth of July week. There were always a bunch of kids around during that time. My Buddy was right out there in the middle of them. And how most dogs do not like fireworks, My Buddy was just the opposite. He wanted to be right in the middle of where the fireworks were. The kids would sometimes have to hold onto him because he would run to the fireworks and try to eat them.
The summer after my dad passed away My Buddy suddenly disappeared. We missed him and then the neighbors asked if we had seen him. We told them that we had not seen him for a while. So they did some searching between here and the house where he actually belonged. They looked along the road side, in the creeks, under the bridges and in the culverts. They talked to the family he belonged to and they told them he had been missing for a while. There was no sign of him anywhere. It is like he just disappeared.
My neighbor’s husband thought that he may have known it was time and he just went away to be by himself when the time came. I don’t like to think My Buddy just walked away. He was such a special dog. You just had to be around him to see his gentle, sweet disposition. He was friendly and loving with everyone. My heart likes to think that God cared for My Buddy in either case, if it was his time to roam on to the greenest grass of all, or if it was with another family that (hopefully) loved him to the end.
God’s Word gives me hope when I think of this. I believe that God cares about all of His creatures. In Luke 12:6-7, Jesus (yes, as I love to say, in the red words) is describing to the crowds that surrounded Him how greatly God cared for them. He gave them the example that five sparrows which were sold for a pittance of two farthings were not even one of them forgotten by God.
Jesus continued by telling them that every single hair on their heads were numbered. He told them to not be afraid in this world because, yes, God cared for the sparrow, but they were much more valuable to Him.
How could these two verses challenge us as followers of Christ? I believe the challenge for us could be in actually acknowledging our value as the Creator of the universe sees us, and living our lives fearlessly to match the value He has for us, and in being alert enough to notice the sparrows in our lives.
To apply these verses to our lives could be as simple as showing the consideration that God has shown us to others. We should be reflecting the care and compassion God has shown us to others that we come in contact with on a daily basis. God would want us to value them as He does…and He does.
What does this mean to my faith? Just wrap your mind around the fact that the God that numbered and named the stars (He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Psalm 147:4 KJV) cares enough about the sparrow to remember it. My faith is strengthened by reading the words of Jesus that tell me, “…ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Lord, to see Your care in the small details, the things that are considered inconsequential by the world, all the way up to the naming of the stars, and everything in between, gives me assurance that I am valued by you because I was created by You in this process. I have confidence in my identity as your valued creation, your child. Reading the words that Jesus spoke gives me confidence in your plan for my life moving forward. Help me to always try to see the sparrows in my life and value them as You do.
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“6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:” Luke 12:6-8 (KJV)
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” Matthew 10:29 (KJV)
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26 (KJV)
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also].” 1 John 2:23 (KJV)
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I feel that since God has given me the gift of this platform, I must always tell you about my Jesus.
What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe? Do you know Jesus? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Him? You can know Him. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth.
Here is a web page that will give you more information about making your decision for Jesus Christ: Start Your NewLife With Christ.
In addition, here is an excellent page that can give you additional information on peace with God: PeaceWithGod.net.
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