Luke 12:7 – “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
This scripture is all about warnings and encouragements. Jesus warned the disciples to be wary of the ‘yeast’ of the Pharisees, the then teachers, hypocrites, who taught the rules openly but behaved in any way they wanted. About fear, Jesus told the disciples not to fear the one who could kill their bodies but to be fearful of the One, our Lord, who could throw their bodies to hell after they died. They didn’t need to fear rather respect God because He was the very God who looks after sparrows who are worth just two pennies. This same God had the count of hairs on their heads!? Lord God considered them way more than sparrows so there was no need to fear. He had their backs.
This is the same realization that must take over us – our great value to God. Jesus assured every believer that their life was precious and remembered before God. We must therefore trust in Him. We must love, fear, and obey Him: pray to Him, for He has promised to help us. If God knows the number of hairs on the head of His every child on earth, He definitely also knows all the important things. Many people who are persecuted are tempted to give in to the feeling that they are worthless and that no one cares for them. It is natural to be afraid of those who can kill our body but Jesus said that they cannot do more after this. The death of the body is not the end of the person. Beyond death, there is heaven and hell. God has the authority to send a person to heaven or to hell, thus controls the final fate of all people. Therefore, it is important to be afraid of God rather than men. If the very hairs of our head is kept in account, not one of them could fall to the ground, or be plucked off by men, without the knowledge and will of God. Thus, God is careful to provide for His people. He has such knowledge that He knows more about us than we can know about ourselves. We therefore must trust God to take care of us because a loving God values each one.
If we talk about Christ in the midst of persecutors, He will own us and talk about us in the great day before the angels of God. If we deny Christ today when we encounter persecutors, and desert His truths and ways, we may save our life for today but will be great losers at last; for Christ will not know us, will not own us, nor show us favour. If we tremble in repentance, as backsliders, with the doubt to be able to obtain forgiveness, God will show us mercy. But to the ones who have a determined enmity and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, God will not show any forgiveness, because they will have no repentance with the Holy Spirit being away from them. God has undertaken to save and defend to the uttermost those who trust in Him. God’s providence protects tiny sparrows through centuries and cycles of time. Wouldn’t God do much more for His children?
