The bird feeder went up last weekend. And we watched for a few days and we were disappointed that there was no activity. Apparently, birds don’t use Instagram. But then one day, I was watching the feeder, and the squirrels showed up. We did not put out a bird feeder to feed squirrels, but we patiently watched to see what happen. I took great pleasure in watching the squirrels try to outwit the squirrel proof bird feeder. They would climb up the pole, swing over to the bird feeder, and sit on the perch, where the food is distributed, only to find that the perch is a trap door, and the weight of the squirrels was too much to keep the little trap door open. Victory is mine.

So the squirrels tried and tried and maybe got a seed or two. After a day or two, the big birds showed up. The doves, the cardinals and the squawking blue jays seemed to say, “I’ll get that seed.” But they had a tough time, because even though they were not heavy enough to close the little trap door, they had to almost hang upside down to get a seed or two, because the opening was too low. They tried and tried, and maybe got a few more seeds.

After another day or two, the sparrows showed up. I am not sure how you feel about sparrows, but they are not much to look at.  After all, they are brown, and small, and many in number. They are just “common” sparrows.

But, sparrows are the perfect size to eat all they want in the bird feeder. In fact, the manufacturer should rename the feeder a sparrow feeder. These sparrows sat on that perch, the trap door didn’t close, the food kept flowing, their little beaks were in just the right position to eat as much seed as they wanted. I also observed that the sparrows were not extremely neat in their eating habits. In fact, they were having such a good time, that the seeds were spilling on the ground. There are seeds everywhere under the feeder. Well this morning, the big birds and the squirrels showed up. But, they did not get on the feeder. They went straight to the ground. There is so much seed on the ground, there is no reason to try getting seed from the feeder. The sparrows saved the day!!

I can’t help but think that there is a lesson there: The little guys are important. You might be related to those sparrows. You might feel insignificant and small. You might feel like you can’t make much of a contribution in the world that God made. You might come from a small town or a small church but the truth is this: His eye really is on the sparrow. He watches you do your work. Sometimes we make a mess, but there is provision, even in the mess. Others are counting on you to be the sparrow, to provide. As churches we fly in formation because we have a similar purpose. It’s what gives meaningto the mission and if we fly in faith we’ll find the feeder. When we work together, He will supply everything we need so that we can accomplish the His purpose as individuals, churches, and associations.

And when we as churches flock together through the Cooperative Program, Here for You, the Georgia Barnette Missions Offering, Lottie Moon, and other missions projects, the impact is seismic!

We all matter to God, and together we can impact the Kingdom in ways that no one church can.