If I’m honest, I sometimes feel a little embarrassed going on walks with my parents.
Why?
Well…my mom and dad…are bird watchers. Mom, Dad, I know that you’re probably reading this, so, no hard feelings, but sometimes bird watchers can look…uh, a little dorky.
I went home a few weeks ago to spend time with my family. One day, the weather was surprisingly good despite lots of recent cold weather. So, my mom, my dad, and I decided to head over to a local park to go for a stroll. My parents were fully equipped with binoculars, ready to stop and look at any and every bird we saw or heard. My dad is so good at bird watching (and listening) that he can pick out many bird species simply based on bird songs and calls. Apparently that’s a thing.[1]
And so, while I may have been a little embarrassed walking on the trail each time the binoculars came out, I do have to admit that…well, maybe my mom and dad might actually be doing a better job obeying Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount than I am.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus’ most famous teachings. It spans three chapters (5-7) of the Gospel of Matthew. In this sermon, Jesus gives his vision for the kingdom of God. It’s a summary of what it looks like for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
“In this sermon, Jesus gives his vision for the kingdom of God.”
One of my favorite theologians, Augustine of Hippo, described the Sermon on the Mount in this way: “If any one will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life.”[2]
So, if this sermon teaches us the perfect standard for Christians, we should pay close attention. One such part of the sermon that our attention should be drawn to, especially in a world as anxious as our own, is when Jesus himself addresses the topic of anxiety and worry in Matthew 6:25-34. I encourage you to read the passage in its entirety, but I’m going to zoom in on two specific verses. Jesus says,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26, NIV)
“Look at the birds of the air,” Jesus says.
Look.
How often do you simply look at the birds?
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
In fact, if you’ll let me get a little nerdy for a second, the Greek word here definitely doesn’t merely have the sense of “glance at.” It’s the word emblepō (ἐμβλέπω). Emblepō carries with it a sense of “behold”[3] or to “observe fixedly.”[4] So, Jesus isn’t saying “just take a quick glance” at the birds, but to actually watch them. To behold them.
Now, I have to admit that Jesus certainly wasn’t asking us to necessarily go full stereotypical bird watcher, complete with cargo pants and binoculars! The simple act of going out into nature to look at birds isn’t enough to obey Jesus’ command here in Matthew 6:26. It’s more than that. To go birdwatching Jesus style is to take time to stare at birds and reflect on the goodness and generosity of your Father in heaven who provides for you.
These creatures, the birds, are constantly provided for by God. They soar the skies with a carefree rule over his creation. They don’t sow or reap or store away in barns. Yet again and again, our heavenly Father provides for them.
And here’s the key: are we not much more valuable than they?
Tim Mackie is a biblical scholar who summarizes Jesus’ outlook this way: “Jesus looks at the world and sees abundance….[He has] a conception of the universe as beautiful creation that is packed with opportunity and resources and potential.”[5]
“They don’t sow or reap or store away in barns. Yet again and again, our heavenly Father provides for them.”
Mackie continues, “Jesus walked around with this deep conviction that despite all of the pain and suffering that he saw going on in the world, despite all the pain and suffering that he himself experienced, he still believed that Yahweh the God of Israel, the creator of heaven and earth is an extremely generous host who has given an overabundance of resources and opportunities to all of us.”[6]
Jesus, however, certainly wasn’t naive. He knew that there was pain and suffering all around in the world. He was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3, NIV). But yet despite the harsh reality of the world around him, Jesus chose to adopt a worldview of trust in his Father.
That sure doesn’t happen by ACCIDENT! It was an intentional choice to view the world in this way. It was an intentional choice to prioritize the right things, such as God’s “kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). It was an intentional choice to see the beauty that God has packed into this world. It was an intentional choice to see the goodness of his Father anywhere and everywhere he could find a reminder of it.
What would it look like for me and for you if that was the worldview with which we approached all of life?
“What would it look like for me and for you if that was the worldview with which we approached all of life?”
What if birds soaring through the sky or flowers sprouting up from the ground weren’t just mundane things we ignored? What if you took intentional time to stop—to stop and behold the beauty of God’s creation and thank him for the abundance, for his generosity?
What if Jesus and birdwatchers are onto something far deeper than we realized? What if this simple act of paying attention to God’s creation is the key to unlocking a faith free from constant anxiety, worry, and fear?
Give it a shot. Grab a lawn chair, get your binoculars, watch the birds, and reflect on God’s abundant generosity.
Don’t be surprised if those birds preach the most convicting sermon you hear this week.
[1] There’s a bird known as the Eastern towhee. Its bird song sounds like “drink your teeeeea,” lasting around one second. The name “towhee” comes from its song/call. My dad is able to pick this one out incredibly easily.
[2] See the opening line of Augustine’s On the Sermon on the Mount here.
[3] Check out Matthew 6:26 in the KJV, as stylish as always: “Behold the fowls of the air.”
[4] Check out Blue Letter Bible for more information.
[5] The Bible Project podcast on Generosity inspired much of these reflections. Check that out here.
[6] This episode of that same podcast series is great, too. The emphasis is mine.
For more from Matthew, see his Substack. Used with permission.
