“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….
If we are just studying this passage which begins with reference to this reason we need to understand what that reason was. It was this….
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
There are few if any places in scripture where the word of God is any sharper or any nearer to our hearts than with these words. I don’t know how the sacred texts of other religions read but I could imagine some of them just placing demands on its adherents without explanation and levy heavy consequences for non-compliance. Instead God appeals to us with story after story ever so gently and ever so directly, inviting us into the high places. Here is a paraphrase of what I believe Jesus is saying…
“Children, this is what your hearts are like. I made them such that they only function when they are dependent on me. Your heart’s task is simply to learn to listen to and to heed the voice of the right master. Think about birds, with nothing more than my gift they soar. They never exchange worry for bread yet, even with your superior worth, you manage to worry. This is my point. Worry is a malfunction of your heart and is evidence you are listening to the wrong master; you have embraced the appeals from an alien kingdom and are unable to soar as I intended you to.
The flowers are preaching the same message. Take some time and look at them. With nothing more than my gift, they are relaxed and radiant. They never exchange worry for rain. They do not sweat to gain sunshine or labor to be planted.
Test yourself. How heavily is the uncertainty of tomorrow weighing on your heart? The answer, if you will hear it can lead you into the skies where you were intended to fly. My remedy, if you can swallow it, will adorn you as the radiant beings from another realm that in fact you are. My council? Seek first My kingdom and My righteousness, and you will discover a Life within you that, in the joy and satisfaction it provides, displaces the false and fragile external things your hearts are tempted to trust in. As alien as it might seem in this worrisome moment, the abundant life I describe is not a life to be had after death. It is the Life of the kingdom of God that was and is and is to come.
I assure you, the false and familiar gods of this temporal world will ultimately break all their promises to you. They will all make themselves wings and fly away. Choose my kingdom and you shall indeed soar far above the clamor of this world that is fading away. If you are hearing my voice yet you do not know where to start stop worrying, here is my council….
“Go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.“
Father, take us by the hand and lead us out of our entanglements with this world. Show us the bad temporal investments we have made. Help us to be honest about our anxiety and recognize what it is saying about our grounded hearts. May your kingdom come and may we soar on the wings of eagles. May the enslaved and downtrodden captives of this world see us and hunger for flight. Amen.
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.