His Eye is on the Squirrel

• Posted on sdgale
• in 'CHOP Talk' Blog
• on September 4, 2012
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There’s an old hymn that has lent comfort to many a saint of the Lord in their pilgrimage in this world. It goes like this:

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

The hymn writer seeks to cheer the soul in a dry and weary land. She reminds us that this world is not our home; heaven is. Heaven is special because there we will be with Jesus forever. But even now He is our portion. Between here and there Jesus is for us and He is with us.

“His eye is on the sparrow” reflects the words of Jesus recorded by Matthew.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:28–31

Jesus makes the connection that since our Heavenly Father governs the plight of sparrows, we can find comfort and confidence in His care of us in our everyday lives. If God’s eye is on the sparrow, we know He watches and cares for us who are of more value as His children.

There’s a problem with that. Years ago I was walking in my neighborhood, enjoying the spectacular beauty of the day. Blue sky. Sun shining. Flowers a palette of color. Birds providing the soundtrack of serenity. All was well with the world.

Immersed in the tranquility of it all, the next thing I know a rush of wind brushes the side of my head and wakes me from my revelry. I lift my gaze to the lawn ahead and there pinned beneath the talons of a hawk was a sparrow. The hawk looked about with smug confidence, spread its wings and took to the sky with its prey secured beneath it.

Let’s revisit that hymn. “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” Suddenly that comfort and confidence do not seem so settled.

What do we make of the sentiments of that hymn? Are they just sappy drivel? More importantly, what do we make of Jesus’ statement about sparrows falling and our being spared falling into the pit of hell?

When we look again at Jesus’ statement we notice that God’s care does not mean escaping hardship or death in this world. As Martin Luther put it, “the body they may kill.” Our Lord does not give us assurance that we as God’s redeemed children will escape trouble and suffering in this world. On the contrary, we can expect trouble to be ratcheted up a notch for us who bear the name of Christ.

What Jesus does assure us is that everything that happens in this world and in our lives is governed by the purpose of a sovereign God. We are secure in His hand. That’s why Paul says what he does in Romans.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:18, 37–39

The suffering is real but it is not God’s final answer for believers. So the comfort we take away is that our salvation rests secure in Christ and what happens in our lives comes to us from the hand of our Father who is forming Christ in us (Rom. 8:28-29).  Nothing escapes His all-knowing superintendence.  Everything serves His all-wise purpose.

I was out for another walk in my neighborhood, this one just recently (some 20 years later). Again, I spotted a hawk up close. Only this time its prey was a gray squirrel. Rather than soaring in flight this hawk was perched on one side of a tree. The squirrel was tense with alarm on the other side, playing the keep away game squirrels are wont to do.

When I saw the hawk, the hawk saw me. It flew away empty-taloned. Unlike the sparrow, the squirrel lived to see another day.

Which hawk story gave testimony to God’s providential care? Jesus would have us say both. God’s eye was every bit as much on the sparrow and it was on the squirrel. His perfect purposes were at work, just as they are in our lives.