Monday, December 15, 2008

worry [part 2]

Matthew 6:28-34

The key to this section is also worry although Jesus focuses on worrying about clothing in this paragraph. He uses the image of the field flowers to remind his audience how trustworthy the Father is and how much he can be trusted to provide. He uses several comparisons: the beauty of the field flowers to the clothes Solomon wore, the way of the pagan to the way of the citizen of the kingdom, pursuing clothing, shelter and food to pursuing God's kingdom and righteousness. For me, this comes down to trust. Will I put my trust in the philosophy that teaches the survival of the fittest and competition for scarce resources? Or will I put my trust in the the Father who promises to look after all my needs? I know which path sounds more attractive. Life is so much more stress free when I can just simply trust the Father, going to him with my requests, my perceived needs and trusting him to provide what I really need for life and godliness. That would free me up to pursue his kingdom with full abandon.

1 comment:

Jeff Beer said...

This is hard, because so often we think that we have our best interets in hand. That we need to be in control of our lives, that is also what we are taught. However God is saying give it over to me, I will take care of you. It is all about giving up control and trusting that God has the very best for us, far better than we could ever do for ourselves.