Relax, Christian, God loves you

As Christians we do not live in fear! We walk by faith. We trust God and His promises. Worry is antithetical to the Christian. The term worry comes from an old German word that means to choke or to strangle. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus commands us not to worry. Over and over again He says, “Do not worry” (verses 25, 31, 34). Jesus says, “If you are part of My kingdom, if you are My disciple, I will care for you.” There are two reasons we must not worry as followers of Jesus.

First, God is our Father (verses 25-30). Our Father is good and He loves us. A father cares for His children. Jesus gives life to every creature. If God has given us life, He will provide food and clothing to sustain life. Verse 25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will put drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Only an evil parent would bring a child into this world and then not properly care for that child. God has done the greater things- given us life. He will do the lesser thing- provide the food and clothing we need!

God not only provides life. He also feeds all of creation. Verse 26 says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Birds do not plant or harvest. God feeds all of creation including the birds. Birds eat like teenagers. Some birds eat one eighth of their body weight every day. Other birds eat up to a third of their weight each day. God provides for them. We are more valuable than birds.

God is a good Father. He has determined the length of our lives. Jesus asked in verse 27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Each of us are born with an expiration date. The Lord Jesus has determined our life span. We will not die until our work is finished.

Verses 29 to 30 point out that God clothes all of creation. God clothes the lilies of the field. God clothes the grass. God will meet our needs also.

Hopefully, you were born into a good family with a loving father. In God’s kingdom, our heavenly Father is good and trustworthy. You can trust Him. He will provide for you.

Second, we must live by faith (verses 31-33). Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things.” As Christians we are called to live differently. We do not live just for today but for eternity.

The command in verse 33 is, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” The word but is a strong adversative. Jesus says, “In contrast to the pagans, live this way.” Seek means “to strive, to focus, to make it your passion.” The word first means this is to be most important. We focus on God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness.

What does it mean to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness? It certainly includes salvation. We enter His kingdom through faith. We put our trust in Jesus who died for us. His perfect sacrifice on the cross paid for our sins. We must be born again.

It includes following Jesus- being submissive to Him. Jesus said, “If you love Me, obey My commandments” (John 14:15). It also includes spreading the gospel- the good news that Jesus died for us.

Living by faith is based upon two great promises. God knows our needs (verse 32). He also promises to provide those needs (verse 33). “All these things shall be added unto you.”

Following Jesus is the greatest. Salvation can be explained this way. Jesus gets your sin. It is as if He lived your life. You receive His perfect righteousness. It is as if you lived His life. God the Father then declares you to be righteous based on the work of Jesus on the cross! In a court of law after being declared innocent the defendant walks out the front door and the judge leaves by the back door. God’s economy is very different. After declaring you innocent God leaves the bench, wraps His arms around you and adopts you into His family! Our God is good and cares for us. We are called to live by faith and serve Him.

In these challenging times as followers of Jesus we must not worry. Every day is an opportunity to trust God. Let’s trust God today!

Ethan Hansen is a pastor at Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.