Mt 6.25-34

Psg: Mt 6.25-34 (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/Mt6.25-34)
Date: 6/20/12

Read

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry* about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26Look at the birds in the sky:* They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds* them. Aren’t you more valuable* than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?* 6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers* of the field grow; they do not work* or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass,* which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven,* won’t he clothe you even more,* you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted* pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom*and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.*

Record

Do not worry (25, 27, 28, 31, 34) … you people of little faith (30).

Reflect

• The clear implication here is that when we worry, it is because we have little faith.
• If we are in fact valuable (26, 30) and God knows what we need (32), and if we believe this to be true, we need not worry about clothing (25, 28) and sustenance (31).
• Note that the objects here are not luxuries, but necessities.
• The replacement activity is pursuing God’s Kingdom and his righteousness (33).
• This is the act of faith.
• Having “little faith” is not fixed by squinting one’s eyes and just believing harder, but pursuing God’s Kingdom out of faith, pursuing his righteousness out of faith. In other words, living out life with the faith that what he claims is true.

Respond

• Father, I do have too little of a faith. The evidence is my worry about the basic necessities. The complication is that I include non-necessities as necessities in my thinking.
• Your better idea is for me to singlemindedly pursue your Kingdom and your righteousness.
• CR: Consider one nonessential that stimulates this kind of worry and if I can’t find a way to use it to pursue his kingdom and righteousness, toss it.