The birds' lesson: Plan for the future, but don't become captive to the unforeseen

I saw them the other day. Saw them just by chance. Two red breasted robins perched outside the window. They were not doing anything particularly special. Their puffed up little bodies were just sitting on the branch. The sun shone brightly, and with these early reminders of spring, I felt warm. Little did I know they would be buried under ice and snow.

When Jesus spoke to thousands of people, he did so not with prepackaged and tested sound bites constructed by a team of rhetoricians. No, he was a master communicator who spoke to the people mostly through spectacularly simple illustrated stories. He told stories inspired perhaps by what he happened to be surrounded with at the moment.

On one such occasion surrounded by a tremendous crowd he said to them, "Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?"

In these and accompanying words, Jesus reminds any who were willing to listen of their own value. He recognized that just the basic pressures of every day can easily become overwhelming. He also recognized we too easily become buried under the worry of where more stuff is coming from. From time to time we need a reminder that life is intrinsically more valuable than the food that is eaten and the clothing that is worn.

These words are powerful reminders in days when business news has a dark cast.

In economic downturn or in seasons of prosperity, "stuff" is not the defining measure of individual value. He says that having stuff is not a problem. The problem comes when stuff possesses you. The value of our lives is not defined by the size of our driveway.

Birds do not build barns. They do not worry about the unforeseen. Jesus is not advocating going into the future without a plan. He shares a story of the importance of planning for the future. What he is saying is that planning for the future does not mean becoming captive to the unforeseen. The future is unknown, but being held captive by worry will not add a single hour to your life.

The simple elegance of the common bird reminds each of us that life is valuable and God is able to provide.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.