In the same week that France suffered yet another terrorist atrocity at the hands of someone claiming to act in the name of God, it was reported that the President of France, Francois Hollande, spends some €100,000 a year on his barber. Given the weight of responsibility that he carries as leader of his nation, and the multiple problems with which he has to deal on a daily basis, that might cause him to want to tear his hair out at times, this is probably money well spent.
But the two pieces of news have more in common than you might think, and point us to an important truth. The terrorist believed that in killing many innocent people he was in some way acting to please God, and quite rightly many will question what kind of God would want his servants to do such a thing.
But in speaking to his friends about the violence and opposition that they would inevitably encounter in the world, Jesus reminded them that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing, and that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Far from approving of the slaughter of the innocents, God takes note of and cares for every one.
