Luke 12:24  ·  A story for older children and teens

I want you to look with me at something Jesus said. It is found in Luke chapter 12, verse 24.

“Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?”

Luke 12:24, NKJV

Now that is a simple verse. But it is a powerful verse.

Two Creatures Nobody Notices

A friend of mine was driving home from Clydebank, there in Scotland. Nothing unusual about the trip. Just heading home. And the Lord let him see something.

A grey squirrel and a crow were playing together.

Not fighting. Not chasing each other off. Playing.

Now that is interesting, because those are not the creatures people get excited about.

If it had been a red squirrel, folk would have stopped. They would have taken pictures. They would have said, “Look at that rare one.”

But it was a grey squirrel. The common one. The one most people walk right past.

And it was a crow. Just a crow. The kind that eats what is left on the road. The kind people wrinkle their nose at. Nobody puts a crow on a Christmas card.

Two creatures people do not bother about.

And there they were, playing on the side of the road.

What Jesus Pointed To

Jesus said, “Consider the ravens.”

He did not say consider the eagles. He did not say consider the rare and beautiful birds. He said consider the ravens.

The raven is in the same family as the crow. It is the bird that lives off what others leave behind. It does not plant. It does not harvest. It has no barn. No storehouse. No savings account.

And God feeds it.

Psalm 147 says He gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens that cry.

The young ravens cry, and the Father hears them.

That tells me something about the heart of God.

He is not only interested in the impressive thing. He is interested in the ordinary thing. The overlooked thing. The thing people do not bother about.

Now look at the rest of the verse.

“Of how much more value are you than the birds?”

That is the point Jesus is driving at.

If God sees a crow on a verge in Scotland, He sees you.

If He feeds a bird that lives off leftovers, He will not forget you.

If He can take two common creatures and let them play together for a few minutes of joy, He is not ashamed of common people either.

If You Feel Ordinary

A lot of young people feel like the grey squirrel or the crow.

Not the rare one.

Not the one everyone notices.

Just the ordinary one.

School feels hard. Words do not always come easily. Your body does not always do what you want it to do. You feel a bit behind. A bit messy. A bit unseen.

Jesus looks at that and He does not walk past.

He says, “Consider the ravens.”

In other words, look at the creature nobody fusses over. Watch how carefully I care for it. Then remember what that means for you.

You are of more value than the birds.

Not because you are rare.

Not because you have it all together.

Not because people are intrigued by you.

Because the Father sees you. Because Jesus came for you. Because the same God who opens His hand to the crow knows your name.

A Little Picture of Jesus

I like that picture of the squirrel and the crow playing.

They do not normally belong together. One is cautious. One is rough and noisy. One lives in the trees. One lives wherever it can find a meal.

Yet for a little while they forgot their differences and just enjoyed the life God gave them.

That is a small picture of what Jesus does.

He takes people who would never naturally get along. Different backgrounds. Different struggles. Different personalities. And in Him they can live together. Not perfectly yet. But together.

Isaiah spoke of a day when the wolf would dwell with the lamb, and a little child would lead them. No one hurting. No one destroying. The earth full of the knowledge of the Lord.

We are not there completely yet. But we have already seen the beginning of it in Jesus.

Take This Home

So here is what I want you to take home.

God used two animals that people do not bother about to remind a man on the road home that He bothers about us.

If you feel ordinary, remember the grey squirrel.

If you feel looked down on, remember the crow.

If you wonder whether God sees you, remember the ravens.

They neither sow nor reap.

They have no storehouse nor barn.

And God feeds them.

You are of more value than they are.

That is not a small word. That is the heart of Jesus.

Consider the ravens.

Then lift your head.

Your Father has not forgotten you.