Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The words above are beautiful, for they tell us the Father is with us at all times. Of course, for us who are finite with a definite end on this earth, this a primary concern. Will God take care of us if we trust completely in him? Is He that much with us and in us that we can place all our trust in him to take care of us as a good father would? We know the Bible says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Jesus tells us that we are more important than the birds of the air: Are you not much more valuable than they? Do we believe this or do we need to worry about what is happening today or might happen tomorrow? Worrying is the operative word in today’s focus. WE ALL WORRY! If we were going to cross an eight lane freeway during commute time in a major city, we would worry about crossing to the other side without getting hit. We would plan how to get safely to the other side. If we went into the forest to hunt mushrooms for our dinner with little knowledge of mushrooms, we would worry about picking the wrong mushrooms. If our child did not come home from school at her regular time and is still not home at midnight, we would worry. Jesus tells us that Each day has enough trouble (worry) of its own. Definitely, people worry. Life can trouble us so much that our days and hours can be spent in thinking about what might happen in the future. Our problem as Christians becomes very serious when we lose faith in God’s everyday presence, picking our way through life by our own strength and ability. The burden of life becomes too much for us under those circumstances. In fact in certain situations if we are inundated with worrying, we can become catatonic, unable to think, move, or plan. Worrying can stress us to the point of deep depression, making us seek our bed, finding comfort only in inaction, afraid that any move might be the wrong one. Jesus in the above focus recognizes our humanity with the fears of life, but we should trust that God knows our circumstances. If our refrigerators are full of food, we can appreciate that we should not worry about food. If our closets are crammed with clothes and shoes, we accept Jesus’ words that we should not concern ourselves about clothes. If shelter is assured for us today and for many years ahead, we gladly accept what Jesus said about not worrying about tomorrow. When our assets are plenty, we can sing the song that God’s eye is on the sparrow with others who are well supplied by God. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. (Matthew 10:29) We have songs that we sing passionately on Sunday morning about placing everything on the altar before God. Of course, our clothes are cleaned and pressed, the morning shower has made our bodies clean, and our hair is just right for others to see us. Why take thought for tomorrow, for we have all the food, clothes, and shelter that we need. But our minds and situations deceive us, for we think we are living by faith, but in reality, we are living more by our senses than faith. Older Christians remember the hymn, “I Surrender All." But do we surrender all or just what we know is backed up by the realities of our lives, giving what will not hurt us. Our work schedules, our recreation time, our freedom in life is spent more for ourselves than for God’s agenda. We press in as much as we can to get the most out of life for our personal benefit. We labor or spin for our benefit, not for others.
In today’s scriptures, Jesus focuses us on living for God by faith rather than as at the pagans live. For the world runs after satisfying their wants and needs as they journey through this life with little or no thought for others or spiritual realities. They do worry about What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ These concerns are satisfied by their reason for living: eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. When Jesus talks about the foolish rich man’s life, he relates how tragic a life is when it is lived for selfish reasons. Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:18-21) If we realistically analyzed our lives, how far from the fool’s life are we in our existence? Are we living today for God or are we considering tomorrow, storing up as much as we can for ourselves so that we do not have to worry? Do we work for retirement or are we working today for God because we are rich for God’s agenda? Do we really believe our heavenly Father knows what we need? Are our thoughts today fixed on God and on his reasons for us to be alive? Do we daily seek first his kingdom and his righteousness? Of course these are difficult questions for us to answer, for the world is pressing in on us from every side, but this is what Jesus is getting at in the above focus, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life; Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. We should not live our lives following the world’s patterns. Without Christ, people focus on fleshly pursuits on eating, drinking and being merry, but our lives should be centered on God, bringing glory to him by serving him daily, believing his provisions for our lives will be enough. We should heed John’s words, For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)
Understanding the pressures of the world, trusting in God does not mean that we do not plan. The Bible is full of planning. Paul’s planned his trips; Jesus’ journeys were planned. God planned every part of their lives, and also gave them wisdom and reason. As children of God with the mind of Christ, we also plan but with the thought, not my will but yours, Lord. God has given us the ability to plan, to reason, to seek out what is best for us or conversely what is not best for us. Eve planned to eat of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. As Jesus sends his disciples to the communities of Israel, He warns, Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16 KJV) Jesus had a plan for them, but they needed to make good decisions. Some people believe that God will just take care of us without any planning at all; our cupboards will be full; our clothing will be adequate; our shelter will be enough. We believe God can do all of that, but God gave human beings the ability to choose. We are not automatons, robots, maneuvered by the Master of the Universe. We are people who can think, understand, plan, and choose rightly. We have been made in God’s image to follow his will and word the best we can. But we are not just puppets on a string. The glory of humans is that they are free to choose God’s agenda or they can choose their own way. Our scripture passage tells us that God will take care of us if we wholeheartedly follow him. He tells us that this present life is not really that important. The things that the pagans strive for in life are not eternal. Those who reject God fool themselves by living careless, self-serving lives. God has something greater for his children who live lives of generosity and self-sacrifice—a place prepared for them in heaven. A believer’s life might not look very attractive to the world, but it is a life worth living. Paul said of his life that he had learned the secret of contentment in Christ as he yielded his life to him. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13) As Christ lived, as the apostles lived, we also should strive to live in the land of faith. They were mistreated, thirsty, hungry and homeless many times, but God was always there for them. They felt anxiety, fear and hopelessness. We see Peter’s fear in the courtyard of the High Priest; we see Paul as he said in 2 Corinthians 6 with sleepless nights, hunger, hardships and distresses; we see John the Baptist beheaded; James killed by the sword; Jesus crying out on the cross: About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Matthew 27:46) These people lived with the love of God in their hearts by the will of God, by faith. As Paul said about his life, known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:9-10) We who are living IN CHRIST and FOR CHRIST live in the center of God’s will, always before his eyes. We are his children, and for us life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes? IN CHRIST, we do not labor or spin. And as Jesus said about his followers, Peter, John, Paul, and all the rest of us, we are dressed in splendor that Solomon could not even imagine. God bless you today.
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