First Q: In Matthew 6:26, Jesus says, talking about the birds of the air, Your heavenly Father feeds them. Thats not very reassuring; most birds die before reaching maturity, and even those that survive beyond fledgling-stage will hardly ever die of old age, but due to a lack of food or water, or due to disease, or as a predators prey, and so forth. How does this exemplify Gods provision?
A: Like any illustration, the application of this saying should be understood to be limited to the subject it is intended to illustrate: the provision of food/sustenance. Also, the setting should be considered: Jesus delivered this sermon outdoors. People could see the birds in front of their eyes, just as they could see the lilies of the field. Within that setting, Jesus listeners didnt, wouldnt, and would not be expected to think about other birds in other locations. The birds Jesus was talking about were right there, exhibiting by virtue of their flight and liveliness that their needs were being provided. The objection, God does not feed pigeons may be weighty when studying a particular population of pigeons in particularly hard circumstances, but if expressed in, say, Trafalgar Square, a good comeback might be that the pigeons are obviously getting fed somehow.
To put it another way: it was not unknown in those days that birds die, just as it was not unknown that flowers fade, and get mowed down or consumed. Yet Jesus nevertheless used the lilies of the field to illustrate how God provides clothing. The picture, for the illustration, is not Consider the life-cycle of a lily, and nor is the picture Consider the life-cycle of a bird. Rather, Jesus called His listeners to consider the birds that they saw in the sky, on the occasion of the sermon. Without even harvesting or reaping in the fields, and without building barns to store grain, those birds had found food to sustain them to their present state, at the least.
Second Q: When Jesus asks, Are ye not much better than they?" (i.e., better than the birds), the question is rhetorical. But is the answer truly obvious? It looks like Jesus meant that birds are not worth much compared to humans. So we are free to treat them however we please, right?
A: Wrong. Human beings are worth more than birds. Not only was our species created in the image of God, but we have also been redeemed by Gods Son. The most ignoble human being has more intrinsic worth that the most beautiful peacock or macaw. This should be obvious even without Jesus say-so -- everyone should realize that, barring some exceptional circumstances, if you faced a choice between saving the life of a human being or the life of a bird, you ought to save the life of the human being. Or to put it another way: if a flood was approaching a mans house, and he could escape with only his daughter or his cockatiel, shouldnt he take his daughter? Of course. People /are/ more valuable than birds. Still, we ought to treat birds, and all creatures, equitably. One-dollar bills are not as valuable as 100-dollar bills, but that does not make it good stewardship to waste or purposelessly destroy one-dollar bills.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: Like any illustration, the application of this saying should be understood to be limited to the subject it is intended to illustrate: the provision of food/sustenance. Also, the setting should be considered: Jesus delivered this sermon outdoors. People could see the birds in front of their eyes, just as they could see the lilies of the field. Within that setting, Jesus listeners didnt, wouldnt, and would not be expected to think about other birds in other locations. The birds Jesus was talking about were right there, exhibiting by virtue of their flight and liveliness that their needs were being provided. The objection, God does not feed pigeons may be weighty when studying a particular population of pigeons in particularly hard circumstances, but if expressed in, say, Trafalgar Square, a good comeback might be that the pigeons are obviously getting fed somehow.
To put it another way: it was not unknown in those days that birds die, just as it was not unknown that flowers fade, and get mowed down or consumed. Yet Jesus nevertheless used the lilies of the field to illustrate how God provides clothing. The picture, for the illustration, is not Consider the life-cycle of a lily, and nor is the picture Consider the life-cycle of a bird. Rather, Jesus called His listeners to consider the birds that they saw in the sky, on the occasion of the sermon. Without even harvesting or reaping in the fields, and without building barns to store grain, those birds had found food to sustain them to their present state, at the least.
Second Q: When Jesus asks, Are ye not much better than they?" (i.e., better than the birds), the question is rhetorical. But is the answer truly obvious? It looks like Jesus meant that birds are not worth much compared to humans. So we are free to treat them however we please, right?
A: Wrong. Human beings are worth more than birds. Not only was our species created in the image of God, but we have also been redeemed by Gods Son. The most ignoble human being has more intrinsic worth that the most beautiful peacock or macaw. This should be obvious even without Jesus say-so -- everyone should realize that, barring some exceptional circumstances, if you faced a choice between saving the life of a human being or the life of a bird, you ought to save the life of the human being. Or to put it another way: if a flood was approaching a mans house, and he could escape with only his daughter or his cockatiel, shouldnt he take his daughter? Of course. People /are/ more valuable than birds. Still, we ought to treat birds, and all creatures, equitably. One-dollar bills are not as valuable as 100-dollar bills, but that does not make it good stewardship to waste or purposelessly destroy one-dollar bills.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
