Article November 21, 1942 Issue

"More value than many sparrows"

[Of Special Interest to Youth]

W. MIRIAM BARRIE

The hearts of men are forever reaching out for comfort. Unless rooted and grounded in Truth, a foundation which cannot be disturbed by the onslaughts of evil, their thoughts are not in communion with divine Mind and therefore are not happy ones.

A young boy who had been a student of Christian Science but a short while awoke one summer day to the fact that he was unaccountably depressed. For this he could assign no especial reason. To rid himself of the discomfort he turned to his Bible. As he idly turned the pages, these words met his eye: "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." His search continued, and again he saw a reference to the sparrow: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" The student mused, Why had the Master chosen a small, common bird to point his lesson? Was it not because there is nothing too minute or poor, according to the world's standard, to warrant the care and infinite loving-kindness of the Father?

Then he recalled suddenly that the night previous, when listening to the various dolorous views expressed over the radio regarding the world and its wartime conditions, he had not taken his usual care to rebuke this pessimism with the truth. Instead, he had allowed himself to be unconsciously carried away by the speaker, even to the point of agreeing with his views from time to time—that he and many others were helpless victims in the midst of an unholy, stupendous piece of folly and tyranny. Recognizing the error for what it was, an insidious suggestion, he questioned himself sternly. What possible difference could the dismal broadcast make in view of the assurance that he was of "more value than many sparrows"?

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