The importance of the Sparrow

I've been doing a lot of work this summer on birds, especially Sparrows. The sparrow isn't a brightly colored bird, in fact they are pretty ordinary. Male House Sparrows have gray heads, white cheeks, a black bib, and rufous neck – although in cities you may see some that are dull and grubby. Females are a plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown. These are some of our most common birds.

Their constant presence outside our doors makes them easy to overlook and that is what has intriqued me about them. We regard them as seemingly insignificant, but in Matthew 10:29 it says: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care; and in Matthew 6:26: 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?

So if the Sparrow an insignificant brown bird is important to our Father in Heaven, how much more are we regarded by him. Pretty powerful stuff to ponder.

These are images from my current work in progress. Other than my signature, I have finished this sparrow. My next piece will be larger, 11x14 and will have five sparrows on a log. Look for images to come.