“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

This passage in Luke comes within an extended exhortation by Jesus about acknowledging Him in our lives and living fearlessly in the face of persecution. Yet right here, in the middle of that bracing word, is a profoundly comforting word about the way God relates to us. The way that God knows us, says Jesus, is with loving care and attention. Like a purchaser paying attention to a group of sparrows he buys or a person trying to count the number of hairs on their head, God’s loving care goes all the way down to the details of you and me. God knows us and God also cares for us. What a wonder!

In comparison to God’s ever-aware care for flighty sparrows and innumerable follicles of hair, as humans made in God’s image we are far more valuable and worthy of care. How valuable? As the gospel story continues, we begin to see just how valuable we are to God and just how far His care will go toward us. The Apostle John summarizes it in bold truth:

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

Today take time to remember the loving care of God. Whether on the mountain peaks of joy or the shadowed valleys of despair, know that God is tenderly present and lovingly caring for you, whether you see it or not.