What is the main point of this passage? Well, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Jesus says it about a hundred times in the passage (slight exaggeration)...DON'T WORRY! That is the point isn't it. It is so simple and straightforward, but it is something that is so difficult for us to make into a reality. The depth of this point is beyond just "good advice" from Jesus. Is it better to live your life as worry free as possible? Yes. Is it better for your health...better for your sanity? Yes. All of that is true and simply telling us not to worry for the sake of our quality of life would have been enough, but Jesus point goes much deeper than your happiness. Worry is a faith issue, not just a quality of life issue. Jesus makes it quite clear by pointing to nature - he says, "Look at the flowers and the birds, do they worry? No of course not. God has created them and holds them together and provides nutrients for them so that they can live and grow." Flowers and birds, whether they know it or not cognitively, understand somewhere in there make-up that they exist because God allows it...they exist because God is sustaining them...they are a part of the creation that God cares for on a daily basis. When human beings like you and I decide to worry...decide to allow things that are out of our control to control us...we are acting out of unfaithfulness. We are saying that we do not trust God to take care of things. We are saying that we have a better plan...that we have a better timetable...that things should have gone another way, and these are things that are born out of distrusting God. That is the main point of this passage really. If you and I claim to be followers of Jesus Christ (Which I hope you do), then that means that we must trust that God knows what He is doing in the world. We have so many more important things to be doing than wasting our time, emotions, energy and soul on worry!!! We should be actively working on a daily basis to discern God's will and the redemptive work that He is doing in the world and joining Him in that!
What part of this passage spoke most deeply to you? I have been taking care of a small flower garden in my back yard for a few weeks now. If this shatters the ultra-manly picture of me you have in your head...I am sorry, but it is quite enjoyable. Every day as I go out and water the garden and pull out weeds, I see the flowers and it is easy for me to become numb to their beauty. I see them over and over, and they look pretty much the same as they did the day before and I begin to lose the awe I should have for these beautiful flowers. If I get down close and really look at them...they are amazing. Have you ever taken the time to stare at the petal of a flower? Really looked at it? They are so soft and intricately designed...you can see how the colors fade from one unnamed shade to the next...you can see the delicate and minuscule veins that keep nutrients flowing into the petal to prolong its life...it is almost unbelievable that such a thing of beauty exists (It is unbelievable that it came about accidentally through a chaotic explosion an almost infinite number of years ago). And think about this...that is just a flower. A flower. Billions of flowers bloom and die probably every day around the world. Think about the care and the creativity God put into making you. Every human being who has ever lived is completely and utterly unique. There has never been anyone exactly like you - ever! There has never been anyone exactly like me - ever! Do you think about that truth? God made us into the people we are today for a purpose...yeah we have been through some rough things...yeah we have experienced the brokenness of this world from time to time, but even those terrible things we have been through have been used by God to shape us into the who we are right now. Don't let yourself become numb to the creativity and beauty that exists within you because you see yourself every day...because you have lived so many days that they all start running together. Remember to see the uniqueness that exists in you and ask God to show you what you are supposed to be doing for His kingdom. Why would you and I waste our time on worry, when we have a chance to join God in living out the adventure we were created for?
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