These words of comfort from Jesus to the Twelve Apostles were the inspiration for the words to the much beloved hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. Civilia Martin wrote the lyrics as a poem after a visit with the Doolittles, some friends of her and her husband in 1905. Civilia then mailed the poem the next day to Charles Gabriel who composed the music and thus was created this beautiful hymn.

What happened at that visit with the Doolittles to inspire Civilia to put pen to paper with such a comforting message? The story goes that Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nearly twenty years and Mr. Doolittle had to get about in a wheelchair. Yet, in spite of their infirmities, their joy of life was an inspiration for others. During a visit to the Doolittles, Civilia’s husband asked them what their secret to happiness was to which Mrs. Doolittle replied, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” This simple yet profound statement of faith in Christ inspired the hymn that has touched and changed many hearts over the years.

For those unfamiliar with this hymn I will just share with you the first verse and refrain:

The same Jesus who comforted and brought joy to the Doolittles in spite of their physical circumstances is here today to offer the joy of the Lord to all who will seek Him. Being a Christian too often is thought to mean a life of suffering and despair. Yet, the Lord in His very words of warning of the trials and persecutions His followers will endure teaches us how precious we are to Him.

We are so precious to Jesus that He willingly suffered the pains and agony of the cross. How many here have seen Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion? As graphic as Gibson’s representation of Jesus’ suffering was what the Lord endured was even worse than any film could portray. Frankly, I do not know how anyone who has seen Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion can lightly discard Jesus’ sacrifice as something trivial. Nor can I even imagine a God that would willingly allow His only begotten Son to suffer such a horrible death if there were any other way to redeem humanity. This is how I know deep within my very being that God the Father’s sacrifice of His precious Son Jesus is the Only Way for salvation. For there to be any other way and to have chosen such a brutal death for His Only Son would only mean that God is a monster. Such a God would not deserve worship, but reproach, for choosing such a cruel death for His Only Begotten Son.

So when others tell me that Jesus is not the Only Way for salvation, I know that this can not be. In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans he writes, “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

What St. Paul is teaching here is that the sins of Adam and Eve brought sin into the world for all of humanity. The beautiful Paradise that God had created for humans became off limits for humans and other creatures. Humanity and all of creation was forced to live in the fallen state that was caused by the disobedience of Adam and Eve. In Genesis chapter 3 beginning with verse 22 we read:

“Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.”

It is through the sin of Adam and Eve that the world was changed and with it the relationship of humans with God. Even the relationship between humans and God’s creatures and creation was changed. St. Paul states, “For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation”.  Nothing could restore that relationship which God had intended to have with humanity when He created humans, except the willing sacrifice of God Himself through His beloved Son Jesus. As St. Paul writes, “For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.”

As St. Paul stated Jesus is God’s gift to us. It is only through Jesus’ atoning blood whereby we can be set free from the bondage of sin and death. Without Christ, we are lost indeed! There is no hope of salvation except through Jesus Christ.

The Doolittles understood this. They could have lived their lives filled with self pity for their physical infirmities and sufferings. Instead, they looked beyond their circumstances and embraced the sufferings of Christ as their triumph over their own limitations. For the Doolittles to live for Christ was their secret for happiness. Only Christ could give them peace in knowing how precious their lives were to Him who gave His all for them and now kept constant watch over them. As Mrs. Doolittle said, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”

There are some here today who are going through trials and sufferings that you alone know. Some days you may be tempted to give in to despair. The Lord wants you to know that He, who cares for the tiny sparrow, will never leave you; because you are His precious beloved child. Let the Father God embrace you with His Love..