“Matthew 6:25-34”

Sunday, May 24, 2020

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

---End of Scripture Verses---

Jesus taught us in verses 19-24 to not give our hearts to our worldly possessions. These are the things that “moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal” (verse 19). These are the kinds of things we tend to worry about because they are so vulnerable and ephemeral. Jesus knows that it will derail our faith if we put too much stock in the fleeting things of the world, “for this reason” He gives us several explanations for why worrying is just senseless in today’s reading.

In verse 25 Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives and our bodies. He argues that if God is powerful enough to give us life, then He is fully capable of giving us food in order to sustain that life. And if He created our remarkable and complex bodies, surely we can trust Him to give us clothes to cover and warm them. When we worry about our life and our necessities, that really is an indication that we are focusing way too much on our own selves and our limited capacities, and not enough on God and His limitless capabilities.

In verses 26-30 Jesus uses examples from the natural world around us to teach us to not be anxious. He argues that if God provides for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, doesn’t it just stand to reason that He will take care of us as well? By the way, Jesus isn’t teaching that we shouldn’t work to provide for our families in verse 26. Birds are certainly not idle creatures so we shouldn’t be either. The point is that God provides for their physical needs. And since He created us in His own image and loves us much more than them, we can count on Him to take care of us all the more.

In verse 27 Jesus tells us plainly that worrying about things is just useless. He states the obvious fact that being anxious for something can’t add one minute to your life. It can, on the other hand take life away from you: quality of life if not quantity of days. The simple truth is that worrying doesn’t help solve our problems, it only compounds them. I think we all know this but we need frequent reminders to help us refocus our faith, because this world is filled with trials and troubles.

In verse 33 Jesus tells us where we need to keep our focus aimed: on God’s kingdom and His righteousness. The spiritual pursuits are the most important ones because, unlike worldly interests, they have eternal implications. To seek God’s kingdom is to appeal to His supreme rule and obey His perfect will for us. God wants us to live godly lives and pursue the kind of righteousness that only He can impute to us. To “seek” means to try with all our might to possess, and the tense of the verb expresses a constant and continual seeking. If we give first priority to God and His will, He will make sure we get everything we need.

Please read Matthew 7:1-12 for tomorrow – Sermon on the Mount – The golden rule.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

-Louie Taylor

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