Matthew 6:25-26 25On account of this, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will be clothed in. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, because they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
This passage addresses a common problem we all have: worry. We are all prone to worry at some point or another. There are two big causes for worry: when something is out of our control, and fear of the unknown. Worry and fear often go together. We worry about a situation because we do not know the outcome. People deal with two big problems: dealing with the past and lingering haunting memories, and worry about the unknown future. When challenges come, our trust in God and people can dwindle, leading to doubt and worry. Jesus offers a different perspective of purpose and peace. On account of this at the beginning of verse 25 indicates that the issue Jesus addresses in these verses builds on the previous verses. The verses19-24 deal with what we have, and verses 25-32 focus upon what we do not have.
Jesus lists three necessities of life for survival: food, drink, and clothing. Without these, our lives would be miserable and eventually come to an early end. The problem is that we can become too pre-occupied with these things, miss out on what is more important, and get our priorities mixed up. We can put more concern into things of the world and not enough focus on the most important things of loving God and loving others.
Jesus says that life is more important than these things. What life is Jesus talking about here? It is more than earthly life. The treasures of earthly living are only temporary and prone to destruction; sickness and death are always encroaching upon us. Jesus promises abundant life (John 10:10), but this life is not determined by food, drink, clothing, or other treasures of this world. It is abundant because it is eternal.
For older posts, click here.