Jesus was not here telling his followers that they did not have to work to feed and clothe themselves? (See Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.) On that spring morning, the birds were busy scratching for food, courting, building nests, sitting on eggs, feeding their young. They were working but without worrying. The flowers were also busy pushing their roots into the soil in search of water and minerals and sending their leaves reaching up for sunlight. They had to mature and blossom and cast their seed before they died. They were working but without worrying. God provides for birds and lilies. ‘Will he not much rather provide for you, you with little faith?’—Matthew 6:30. So have faith. Do not be anxious. Anxiety will change nothing. “Who of you by being anxious,” Jesus asked, “can add one cubit to his life span?” (Matthew 6:27) But why does Jesus relate a physical measure of distance, a cubit, to a measure of time in a life span? Perhaps because the Bible frequently likens the life span of humans to a journey, using such expressions as “the way of sinners,” “the path of the righteous,” a ‘broad road to destruction,’ and a ‘cramped road to life.’ (Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 4:18; Matthew 7:13, 14) Anxiety about daily needs cannot extend one’s life by even a fraction, “one cubit,” so to speak. But there is a way to lengthen your life by endless millions of miles, as it were. Not by being anxious and saying: “What are we to eat?” or “What are we to drink?” or “What are we to put on?” but by having faith and doing what Jesus tells us to do: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.”—Matthew 6:31-33
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 00:51:35 +0000
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