Happy Monday! Today we’ll be looking at Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
It looks like we may get through all of Matthew 6 by the time we’re finally able to meet again! Today’s passage deals with worry. Jesus begins with the “trinity” of common worries people seem to have throughout history: life, body, food. All of these get back to image. See, you should care about your life and steward the body God’s given you, but always worrying about your image or what other people think about you is a problem. Similarly with food! Food is a great gift God has given us that is meant to be enjoyed! There’s no reason for food to be as delightful as it is, other than it being a gift from God. But worshipping food or worrying about what people think of the food you have is a problem. I remember back in high school, I’d just met a new friend who I’d invited over to hang out. We became fast friends, and the next three times he came over we had the same food: frozen pizza! My mom still apologizes to him to this day that that’s all we ate! But let’s be honest, what middle school boy would ever complain about frozen pizza???
Jesus then uses 3 illustrations to give us reason why we can trust in Him. Birds don’t prepare, plan, or worry about food, but God always provides for them. Or an even closer example to me right now, how much time does worrying add to your life? I’d argue that it takes away time from your life because you’re not doing other things you could or should be! And what about the flowers that are starting to pop up all over (even if they’re dandelions!)? They look far more beautiful than any clothes I could ever buy! And if God care about inanimate objects who are not created in His image, how much more does He care about us? I love the way Jesus ends. We don’t need to worry about tomorrow, because we have enough trouble today! Now he’s not saying to never plan anything, or to just bounce from thing to thing, instead He’s reminding us that God knows the future just as well as He knows the past, so we can place our entire trust in Him!
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Pastor Mike's Musings 