What to Worry About
…so we will be cared for and catered for by God. Instead we must strive for God’s kingdom (p44)
So, we don’t need to worry about where our needs are coming from, how they will be met, God will deal with that.
What we do need to worry about and to work for is the coming of God’s Kingdom – where we are. For that is something we can do something about. To be God’s people, his representatives, his agents. Living a life of God-worship, focussed, not on what we need, but what we can give. Looking, not in shop windows, but on what God is doing – right here and now.
This is a fresh translation of the passage that ‘Consider the Lilies’ is based on:
Matthew 6:25-34
The Message (MSG)
25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
This year for Lent, I am reading Christ in the Wilderness by Bishop Stephen Cottrell, published by SPCK, reflecting on Stanley Spencer’s paintings of that title.
I’m not necessarily going to blog every day on it, just when something leaps out at me – and they will be thoughts rather than full blog posts
[…] again Pam, looking at Stephen Cottrell’s book, ties in […]
drbexl.co.uk » Blog Archive » #BigRead13: Day 10: Tears said this on February 22, 2013 at 4:43 pm |