Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
- Luke 12:22-34

 

Even if we don't live in a reality where we're not sure where the next meal is coming from, we still worry, obsessing over our own circumstances. The translation of 'worry' in the text is 'to have thought'. We may not be worrying about food or clothes, but our thoughts are often consumed by other things, like going into a difficult meeting at work, having to enter a new social setting, paying this month's bills, or difficult relationships.

"Don't worry" goes against a basic instinct we have as humans. But when Jesus says it, he grounds it in the character of God.

God Cares

Jesus uses a rhetorical device here where he argues from the greater to the lesser, and in the Hebrew mind human beings were the highest order of beings on the earth (Psalm 8:5). By looking at God’s care for the ravens and the lillies, he then concludes that God will care for you and I-- if the birds and the flowers are taken care of (vs 24-28), then God will take care of you too.

This can be easy to say on a Sunday morning, but what about when something difficult comes along and we have to trust in the midst of it that God cares? 

God Gives

He already knows your needs, and because He cares, He's ready to supply exactly what you need. "... but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need" (vs 30-31). God is intimately acquainted with our circumstances-- individually and as a church.

Jesus was absolutely assured of God’s care for His people. It's irrational and it may not make sense to us that we could live in that kind of dependence, but Jesus believed it (vs 28).

Worry does not need to be attacked on your own strength-- the foundation we have is that God knows and loves us, and He already knows our needs. Because He cares, He’s ready to supply exactly what we need.

Life is More

"For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing" (vs 23). The word 'more' has a sense of a greater quality, a higher level of reality. Your life is of a more valuable essence than simple survival.

"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God" (vs 21). The 'more' here is about having a real relationship with God the Father-- knowing God and participating in His vision for the world. 

We so often equate the doing with the being, and yet though you need to eat to live, life is more than eating. You need clothing to cover yourself, but you are more than your clothing. Churches gather and sing and pray, but the kingdom is more than just singing and praying. We have these buildings we call churches, but the Church is more than the building.

There is a difference between "doing church" and seeking the Kingdom. The heart of what we do has to be the Kingdom; we need to keep it in sight. Jesus is saying to pay attention to God’s priorities, to God’s plan for the
world in the Kingdom, in the Good News that he's announcing.

If we’re about the heart of the Good News of Jesus, setting all things right in a chaotic and rebellious creation, and when our agenda is “do justice and love mercy and to walk humbly” empowered supernaturally by God’s Spirit-- that’s the 'more' of the church.

Have Faith

Worry is a matter of faith: "And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (vs 28). In a sense, Jesus is saying you need to risk something based on what you know of God. Worry is about whether we’re willing to gamble anything on God’s
character. It's developing a muscle of faith-- remembering that God has taken care of us in the past, and He will do it again. Anyone who has learned to live by faith has jumped enough, and been caught enough, that they worry a lot less.

Faith is stepping into the unknown and knowing enough about God to be confident he’ll meet you there.

How might Jesus’s injunction that worry is essentially about our lack of faith change how you approach the challenges that lie ahead? Remember the prayer of the man Jesus encountered: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”That’s a prayer for more faith in a time of change and disruption. We need not a prayer of safety, but a prayer for more faith.

How Does the Text Send and Equip Us?

  • Go in abundance. "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need" (vs 31). If we go with God into the community, in His spirit, we aren't going to lack the things that we need.
  • Don't be afraid. "So don’t be afraid, little flock..." (vs 32a). Hearing the tender way that Jesus speaks to us, we know he cares and that we can go fearlessly.
  • Go with God's favour. "For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom" (vs 32b). God loves to give to His people when they are participating in His mission in the world; He knows what is ultimately Good and sees that this is the way to achieve it.

As the Holy Spirit transforms you out of the old patterns of worry and faithlessness, you can increase in faith, facing the future with God's abundance and His favour, going into the world fearlessly to share the Good News of Jesus and his kingdom.

 

Missed this Sunday's sermon? Watch it here!

 

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