Are We the Gentiles?

For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  Matthew 6:32 American Standard Version

Beautiful and poetic are Jesus´ words on not worrying about worldly things.  Matthew 6:25-34 has been preached often to give comfort to the flock of followers.  Nearly all who have attended services or opened a Bible knows that even Solomon was not as finely clothed as the flowers in the fields.

As comforting as it is to know that the Lord cares so much for you and me, perhaps there is another and more grave message of truth lying within this text.

Throughout these verses (25-34), Jesus is speaking of the habit or state of worrying.  He is focusing His instruction to the people who are concerned with their life.  Right there I think we could all be included.  Christians are concerned with their lives or they would not draw near to the Bible or to Christ.  Therefore we should be the first ones to sit at His feet and listen to where He is going with His teachings.

Jesus mentions a lot more than just being worriers; He includes people here who are concerned about their job or careers.  He states quite clearly that in God´s eyes it is not a noble thing to be that focused on how we are going to earn a living, about how we will feed our family or put clothes on our children´s backs.

In fact, Jesus is warning us against doing something that we all do each day throughout our entire lives.  Or perhaps your situation is a special one and all your financial worries have been taken care of you, but the normal person from the beggar to the wealthy, we all struggle through this life constantly confronted with the needs of the body.

Once again, Jesus tenderly tries to herd us away from this natural way of being.  He quietly instructs us to look in a different direction.  What does He want us to set our worrying upon?

He wants us to be concerned with the things of God.  Jesus, asks us to seek God´s kingdom before the crucial needs of our physical existence.  He could see beyond what we see and knows that it is far more important to be right with God, than to be alive here on earth.

I don’t know about you, but it hurts me when my Savior says, ¨Oh ye of little faith¨, then points to something that I do daily.

Please Lord; turn your attention to my insufficiency.  I have fallen short in this area in my life.  I looked at my own life and wondered how I would make it.  I could not see how I could support my family or where my career was going.  Forgive me for ever taking my eyes off of You.  Help me to find strength to fight off the natural tendency to look to my concerns and rather to put all my efforts into seeking You, Your kingdom and Your righteousness.

In Jesus´ name I pray,

Amen

Scott W