“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” (Matthew 10:29, NIV)
A little bird has told me something rather big is happening in golf this week. Maybe she alighted on your windowsill and told you them same. Did you notice the tune she was whistling? Sounded familiar, didn’t it?
If such a messenger bird interrupted her migration to sing you the Masters song, it probably wasn’t the same one that normally stops by. That would be a spring bird; this one comes in fall. But you were glad for the visit. And now you’ll turn your attention to the green grass of Augusta National.
Actually, it’s not only the grass that is green at the famed Georgia course. So are the curbs down Magnolia Lane, meticulously painted, as the club revealed in one of its many lead-up videos to this year’s tournament. The videos, though a bit sappy in that all-things-Masters sort of way, gave us a good look at some of the many details it takes to get the course ready for a tournament of this magnitude, from patio tables to caddie garb. The members at Augusta National know they have a showcase, and they do all they can to make it shine.
Details. God is in them, it has been said. The idea comes from Jesus’ words about sparrows and hairs—little things in the big picture of life. But the context of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 10 was anything but quaint.
Disciples are meant to be out among the people. ‘Freely you have received,’ Jesus taught, ‘freely give.’The disciples, it turns out, were concerned for their skin. Actually, Jesus had given them reason to be. He sent them out into the towns and villages to minister to the people. But in the mix, Jesus told them, there will be those who want nothing to do with you. “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves,” he warned. “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.”
Discipleship is serious business when your master is Jesus. His words drive a wedge between otherwise civil people. And yet disciples are meant to be out among the people. “Freely you have received,” Jesus taught, “freely give.”
It was in the midst of this instruction and caution that Jesus brought up the sparrows. See how the Father cares for them. And he brought up their hairs, how each one is numbered. “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows,” he assured them.
When it comes to details, we can fret in two directions. We can try to chase down every one, like Martha, the sister of Lazarus. And when we can’t get to them all, we feel exposed and incompetent. Or we can barely try, because the thought of all that must be attended to is mightily overwhelming.
Knowing that God has the details covered keeps us from either extreme. We can faithfully plug away at the work God gives us and know he’s got us covered—when we run out of time, when we fail at perfection, when we grow weary of the minutia, when our critics are nitpicking. Sing the sparrow’s song of praise in these hours. It might even set your feet to dancing. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Details. The fun kind.
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Jeff Hopper
November 10, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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