Last week my children made an exciting discovery: high up in the branches of the gum tree in the back yard of the house next door, a magpie was building a nest. For three days, we were transfixed, taking it in turns to look through the binoculars and watch him flying up with tiny sticks, one at a time, carefully adding them to the nest.

On the fourth day, it was windy, and we craned our necks, anxiously watching the upper branches of the gum tree. Would the nest survive? Had this little magpie chosen the wisest place to build a home for his family? We talked about how sad it would be for the poor bird if all his hard work was lost in a sudden gust of wind.

As I watched the bird in his swaying nest, I thought of Matthew 10 and pondered the fact that that God had been watching this magpie too: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (v. 29)

How bold, how creative, how adventurous this magpie can be—even though he is (as far as I am aware!) oblivious to the fact that his ventures take place under the watchful eye of a sovereign God! And how timid, how anxious, how risk-averse am I—despite the fact that I know that the God who watches over the magpie is my own Father in heaven!

The fact that I believe in a sovereign God may not be an excuse for pointless foolhardiness; a promise about the protection of angels is not an invitation to jump off the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9-11). But surely, if the context of Jesus' words in Matthew 10 is anything to go by, the fact that God watches over even the sparrows and knows the hairs on my head ought to make some difference to the way I live my life.

I'm thankful to God for giving us those four wonderful days of magpie-watching. And I'm praying that the kids and I will remember the lesson he taught us.

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