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Catelyn Stark, of All Characters!


         “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4-7) 

          House Sparrows are a common sight at my birdfeeder, so much so, that I tend to resent them just a little, and have half-affectionately dubbed them “Flying Pigs.” I keep putting food out, reminding myself that they’re just as deserving as the birds I want to come to the feeder, and they can’t help it if they have such high metabolisms.
           Back when this passage was written, and for a long time in either direction, modern folks would say that there wasn’t much respect for human life. I’ve read some eco-fascist material that claims that one sparrow’s life is worth more than a human life. What’s worse is that there are about a million women per year who pay (or get the government to pay) to end the life of another human being. We think it more important for us to be permitted to drink as much as we want than it is to save the lives of eighty-eight thousand people per year.
          I’m listening to G. R. R. Martin’s A Clash of Kings, and in it, Catelyn Stark talks of the battle of bearing and raising children. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to cheer for Mr. Martin. Catelyn speaks of motherhood in the way I think we should. Yes, it’s a battle. Yes, it’s painful. But it is every bit as heroic and demands just as much as (if not more than) the warrior who goes out to fight for king, country, truth, justice, baseball, and apple pie. To me, Catelyn Stark is (at the moment) a shining example of a person who values life. How he’ll twist her in the future, I don’t know, but right now, hers is the attitude I wish more people would adopt.
          Jesus says that God values sparrows. He also says that He values people more. That’s what we need to keep in mind when we feel afraid. This is an idea that I try to keep in mind. I don’t need to fear man, because man can only kill the body. 
        I can’t help but wonder what it is about humans that makes us so intent on killing one another. The answer that is coming to mind is that the Bible says we’re made in God’s image, and not only is there someone who hates God, and would enjoy punishing him by destroying His creatures, but there is also that part in each of us that agrees with that one. When we look on one another, we see something of the image of God, and that offends us, even if we don’t realize it. That must either be made over in our flawed image, or destroyed.
           And we can choose which way we’ll go, whether to (like Catelyn Stark) champion life, or like most of the rest of the characters in the story, to champion death.

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