FEARLESS is one of those books that if you highlight the best parts with a colored pen, you end up coloring entire chapters. I’m not kidding.
When I read the first few chapters, I was blown away with the wisdom Max Lucado has put into the pages of this book. I got my copy from Thomas Nelson for book review back in 2009 and I honestly didn’t know what to do with it. How do you even say something not dumb when you are reviewing a book like this?
Perhaps the one strong message that I could not get off my head from FEARLESS was the story of the fifth sparrow. You remember the story when Jesus said in Matthew 10: 29 that two sparrows are sold for a penny? In Luke 12: 6, the story was repeated, only that this time, Luke said that five sparrows are sold for two pennies. The seller threw in the fifth sparrow for free.
I don’t know much about sparrows but I’m thinking this kind of bird is so insignificant that even if you sell it at such a low price, very few people would even care to actually buy. The fifth sparrow is much less insignificant being the free item that came with the bargain.
Let me quote Max Lucado’s exact words:
“Society still has its share of fifth sparrows: indistinct souls who feel dispensable, disposable, worth less than a penny. They drive carpools and work in cubicles. Some sleep beneath cardboard on the sidewalks and others beneath comforters in the suburbs. What they share is a feeling of smallness.”
I had to fight a lump in my throat when I read this. Every now and then, whenever I read my notes and get to this part, I couldn’t help but get teary-eyed at the realization that God cares about me.
Matthew and Luke agreed. Not one of these “worthless” sparrows fall to the ground apart from the will of the Father. They are never forgotten by God.
Jojo Agot 