DO NOT WORRY
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It can seem glib to talk about the necessary things of our physical lives—food, water, and clothing, for starters—and simply say, “Don’t worry.” Those who have gone without these essentials at some time in their lives know how vital they are.
So, Jesus had to make His case, particularly when teaching the crowd of Galilean commoners, many of whom would have had their own experiences of hunger and need. He was not speaking glibly but was pointing them to the goodness of God and that His words were not merely a theological argument but should transform the priorities by which they lived their lives. Jesus pointed first to the birds darting about the hillside and circling in the sky above them, seemingly without a care in the world but fed by the abundance of creation. Then, He saw the wildflowers growing on the hillside, noting their fragile and fleeting beauty, which outshines the robes of royalty even if the flowers might only last a single day.
In both examples, Jesus made clear the capacity of God and His creation to supply our basic needs—and, in His abundance and generosity, so much more.
So, don’t worry, Jesus said. As His followers, our lives are not to be focused on what we need or what we can get or accumulate. “The pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matthew 6:32).
According to Jesus, the God who sees and responds to injustice and oppression in our world is also the God who knows our everyday needs.
Like the birds and the flowers, we can live for His glory with freedom and trust.
