We Are Fed

An exciting thought entered my mind last night. If we are followers of Christ, our needs are satisfied. We are all fed by the Father in an equal manner. We may not perceive it to be similar, but in the eyes of the Father, it is identical. Can we ever honestly know what our needs are?

Matthew 6:26 says, “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 are?”

The part that leads me to my observation is, “your heavenly Father feeds them.” Feeding them is not a term that can allow for partial providence. It is complete in its application. The Father nourishes them entirely so that they lack nothing of necessity. There is no shortage. The differences we see are never within the realm of need. They are always in the domain of want, comfort, or desire. He often blesses us in those areas, but we should not mistake them as necessary. 

This interpretation is the only one that can support the enormous difference in how we perceive a missionary and a Christian millionaire. Each is fed entirely according to the need the Father sees. This event misses anyone observing it. We are sadly unaware of the needs of others, and even worse, we can hardly determine our own needs.

Like babes, we make messes of all we touch, yet happily unaware of our destruction. So quickly, I can compare the lives of others to mine as if that is the standard in which I live. My Fathers desire is that I run my own race. Not individually but within a community that can see the value of a collective. How can I compare the needs and strengths of an arm with those of a leg? An ‘eye’ has many different needs and strengths that are not the same as an ear. It is foolish to continue comparing as though we are all of one part.

We must trust our Father to provide what we need to play the part he has called us to play. I must confess. I am surrounded by those I believe to be cared for and fed better than I am. Sadly, this view limits the effectiveness I could have. I focus on the events entirely outside my control and neglect those things that lay a few yards ahead of me. The missed opportunities are never felt in the moment. Good diets always show themselves months later. So do the bad ones. 

I find this to be hard. To live life as a bird. It is a hard life. It is good that a bird is not what we are called to be. We are called to be sons and daughters with the benefit of being taken care of just like the birds. What an exciting thought.