Scripture Reading:
Matthew 6:25–34
Key Verse:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:10–13)
What does this passage teach us?
Verses 25–34. These verses are a striking example of the combined wisdom and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching. He knows the heart of a man. He knows that we are all ready to turn off warnings against worldliness, by the argument that we cannot help being anxious about the things of this life. “Have we not our families to provide for? Must not our bodily needs be supplied? How can we possibly get through life, if we think first of our souls?” The Lord Jesus foresaw such thoughts, and furnished an answer.
He forbids us to keep up an anxious spirit about the things of this world. Four times over He says, “take no thought.” About life—about food—about clothing—about the morrow, “take no thought.” Be not over-careful. Be not over-anxious. Prudent provision for the future is right. Wearing, corroding, self-tormenting anxiety is wrong.
He reminds us of the providential care that God continually takes of everything that He has created. Has He given us “life?” Then He will surely not let us lack anything necessary for its maintenance. Has He given us a “body?” Then He will surely not let us die for lack of clothing. He that calls us into being, will doubtless find food to feed us.
He points out the uselessness of over-anxiety. Our life is entirely in God’s hand. All the care in the world will not make us continue a minute beyond the time which God has appointed. We shall not die until our work is done.
He sends us to the birds of the air for instruction. They make no provision for the future. “They sow not, neither do they reap.” They lay up no stores against time yet to come. They do not “gather into barns.” They literally live from day to day on what they can pick up, by using the instinct God has put in them. They ought to teach us that no man doing his duty in the station to which God has called him, shall ever be allowed to come to poverty.
He bids us to observe the flowers of the field. Year after year they are decked with the prettiest colors, without the slightest labor or exertion on their part. “They toil not, neither do they spin.” God, by His almighty power, clothes them with beauty every season. The same God is the Father of all believers. Why should they doubt that He is able to provide them with clothing, as well as the lilies “of the field?” He who takes thought for perishable flowers, will surely not neglect the bodies in which dwell immortal souls.
He suggests to us, that anxiety about the things of this world is most unworthy of a Christian. One great feature of heathenism is living for the present. Let the heathen, if he will, be anxious. He knows nothing of a Father in heaven. But let the Christian, who has clearer light and knowledge, give proof of it by his faith and contentment. When bereaved of those whom we love, we are not to “sorrow as those who have no hope.” When tried by cares about this life, we are not to be over-anxious, as if we had no God, and no Christ.
He offers us a gracious promise, as a remedy against an anxious spirit. He assures us that if we “seek first” and foremost to have a place in the kingdom of grace and glory, everything that we really need in this world shall be given to us. It shall be “added,” over and above our heavenly inheritance. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Rom. 8:28, Ps. 84:11).
Last of all, He seals up all His instruction on this subject, by laying down one of the wisest maxims. “The morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.” We are not to carry cares before they come. We are to attend to today’s business, and leave tomorrow’s anxieties until tomorrow dawns. We may die before tomorrow. We know not what may happen tomorrow. This only we may be assured of, that if tomorrow brings a cross, He who sends it, can and will send grace to bear it.
In all this passage there is a treasury of golden lessons. Let us seek to use them in our daily life. Let us not only read them, but also turn them to practical account. Let us watch and pray against worry, and an over-anxious spirit. It deeply concerns our happiness. Half our miseries are caused by imagining things that we think are coming upon us. Half the things that we expect to come upon us, never come at all. Where is our faith? Where is our confidence in our Savior’s words? We may well take shame to ourselves, when we read these verses, and then look into our hearts. But this we may be sure of, that David’s words are true, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Ps. 37:25).
Questions:
1. What are the themes of chapters 1 through 6?
2. Why should we be confident that God will take care of us, according to Jesus?
3. Why is it useless to worry?
4. Why do the Gentiles worry? Where is their faith placed? Where are their values?
Family Discussion Questions:
1. Are we a faith-filled family? Or are we easily given to worry? What should we be doing instead of worrying about the future, or about our finances?
2. What is this kingdom we need to be seeking? (Reference Rom. 14:17). Are we seeking this kingdom? What does it look like when we seek God’s kingdom first, over everything else?
