 Reflections
This is the time of year when we are all given to the idea of reflecting on the things that have happened in the last year. Some are perpetually locked into thinking about the guilt and shame of the past remembering all the flaws and failures of the past year or years. Others may be looking back nostalgically on the fun and freedom of days gone by. Still some are only glancing back to make some needed evaluations so that they can pivot quickly to focus on the days ahead. As I think about the year that is now nearly completely passed I am struck by the reality of what does and does not really matter. One year ago there were things that I was concerned about and praying about that today seem so insignificant. There are also other things that I didn’t realize were going to be important but actually have proved to be weighty matters. Finally as I ponder these things I feel the need to be careful and even slow to presume that I am grasping clearly what are the real priorities. But I do think that King Jesus has some instruction for us in these matters. With the rest of this post I would like to consider two important commands given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t Worry In Matthew 6 and Luke 12, Jesus teaches us how we are to relate to the many things that we encounter in the world. The first lesson I would like to remind us of from these parallel teachings of our Lord is that we must not be worried or anxious. I know for many people that seems impossible. The chaos and stress that may be surrounding us at the moment may make us think that a command to not be anxious is unreasonable. This will be especially true of us if we have been convinced of the lie perpetuated by worldly philosophy and psychology that anxiety is a mental illness and not a sin to repent of and mortify. But Jesus commands us in (Matt 6:25), “do not be anxious about your life.” If this was not something that we with new hearts could do, Jesus would not have commanded us to obey in this way. Jesus goes on in this text to give us examples in the birds and flowers of the enduring providence of God over His creation. The implication of these examples is that God is so meticulous in the care of even these things that we must know He will not fail to care for us also. Jesus points us to the reality that we can trust our Father in heaven who knows our needs and what is truly best for us. However, in each of these examples there is also a warning against thinking that our worry is actually accomplishing something. Jesus warns us not to be faithless. In this passage the Bible uses a word which is rendered as “little faith” but it conveys the idea of such little faith that it is indistinguishable from having no faith at all. So Jesus is saying don’t be anxious and faithless but instead trust your God. Be Motivated It may, at this point, sound like I am saying that Jesus told us to just “don’t worry, be happy.” But Jesus was not saying that we should be flaky or purposeless. Instead Jesus said that we should prioritize the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). I do not think Jesus was simply saying make sure God is first. He was saying make sure God is your life. In this way of thinking every part of our lives becomes concerned with knowing God and obeying Him with hearts full of love and gratitude. As we close the chapter on the year of our Lord 2024 and we begin the new year 2025, let us resolve to do everything for the glory of our great God (1 Corinthians 10:31)!
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