March 16, 2016
Deeply Loved
Your
heavenly Father feeds [the birds of the air]. Are you not much more valuable
than they? — Matthew 6:26
Read:
Matthew 6:25-34
Years ago I had an office in Boston that looked out
on the
Granary Burying Ground where many
prominent American heroes are buried. There
one
can find the gravestones for John Hancock and
Samuel Adams, two signers of
the Declaration of
Independence, and just a few feet beyond that is Paul
Revere’s marker.
But no one really
knows where in this burial ground each body is buried because the stones have
been moved many times—sometimes to make the grounds more picturesque and other
times so lawn mowers could fit between them. And while the Granary features
approximately 2,300 markers, closer to 5,000 people are buried there! Even in
death, it seems, some people are not fully known.
There may be times
when we feel as if we are like those unmarked residents of the Granary, unknown
and unseen. Loneliness can make us feel unseen by others—and maybe even by God.
But we must remind ourselves that even though we may feel forgotten by our
Creator God, we are not. God not only made us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27), but
He also values each of us individually and sent His Son to save us (John 3:16).
Even in our darkest
hours, we can rest in the knowledge we are never alone, for our loving God is
with us.
Thank You, Lord, that You never leave me alone and that You
know all about me. Make me aware of Your presence so I may share that comfort
with others who are feeling alone too.
We are important because God loves us.
INSIGHT:
The Sermon on the Mount is all about the life
of those who are part of God’s kingdom. One of the characteristics of our
heavenly Father is that He is our great provider—a fact that Jesus emphasizes
in today’s text. He describes the extent to which the Father goes to provide
for His children. But what is most important is that this provision is not in
response to our obedience or because we deserve it—it is because of our value
to God (Matt. 6:26).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2016
