March 18, 2016
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25-34
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. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Questions for Reflection:
Whenever you see the word “therefore” in Scripture, always ask what the “therefore” is there for. It always points backward. In this particular case, it points back to the instructions Jesus has just given around prayer, forgiveness, fasting and possessions. Based upon those teaching, what does Jesus now instruct his disciples to avoid?
Jesus uses two illustrations to demonstrate why we shouldn’t worry about seemingly essential elements like food and clothing. What two examples does Jesus use to inform his teaching? What can you learn from the example of the birds and flowers? People often talk about experiencing God in nature, but Jesus takes it a step further to illustrate how nature can inform our understanding of God and the grace He grants to us.
Jesus instructs us not to spend our lives pursuing food, drink or clothing. Instead he commands us to seek something else. What is that something else that we should seek first? DA Carson defines seeking the kingdom as the “desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God, the messianic kingdom already inaugurated by Jesus, and to live so as to store up treasures in heaven in the prospect of the kingdom’s consummation.” Is that how you would define the items that you seeking in your life? What we spend our time, effort and money in pursuit of often points to what we value most in life. If that is true, what do you value the most in your life? How can you seek the kingdom of God in your life?