Luke 12:22-34
Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (v. 22a) I kept thinking yesterday about our reading from Matthew and our “needs” – food, drink, clothing, shelter. In both yesterday’s and today’s readings Jesus is telling us, “…do not be anxious…”. That one word, “anxious” appeared six times in yesterday’s reading and three times today. I think “anxious” is the first half of Jesus’ teaching, but God’s kingdom is the main focus! A couple of days ago Bruce commented on the “woes” passage: “I’m taking these verses to mean the condition of our hearts… centered on Jesus, His teaching, His love.” That’s also wisdom for today’s reading about anxiety and our needs. Check the “condition of our hearts” – focus on the kingdom of God and not our needs. Work to satisfy those needs, but “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you…”! [Brief musical interlude…!] Especially in today’s world, as Archbishop Beach reminds us over and over, “Do not worry!”
See also: March 15 / Luke 12:22-34
Exactly what I told my daughter this morning.
Tom, we will keep your daughter in our prayers; and may the Holy Spirit be with her today.
Praying for your daughter, Tom. And so thankful for your heart of trust in God!
Luke 12:34 — Where your treasure is, there is your heart. So what are my treasures? God’s Word, family, comfortable but not “rich” lifestyle, church family, God’s beautiful world of nature… Now I need to compare that to my spending, time, and giving… I think I need to join the men’s group to keep hashing out this out!
One other aspect of being anxious that Jesus points out is the simple futility of it. (See Luke 12:25,26 and Mt. 6:27.) Anxiety lends nothing to solving any problem at hand, and any number of studies have shown the detrimental effects of anxiety on physical health. Energy spent on worrying is utterly wasted effort. Yes, indeed, Jesus points us in the right direction: Lay aside anxiety and seek God’s Kingdom.
But what is this Kingdom of God? Jesus will tell us much more about that in the coming weeks. But I think it is safe to say that it starts with recognizing God as King, not just in the global or “cosmic” sense but right here, right now — with me and with us.
Great insight on the futility of worrying. Thanks John!