Do not be anxious about your life
The gospel for this coming Sunday (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost) is Luke 12:22-34. This passage about possessions is instruction for Jesus’ disciples. The disciples include the twelve, the seventy-two, and a large group of his followers who were a part of the Kingdom of God.
In this text Jesus urges His followers to trust Him for life’s necessities. Then he goes on to list many reasons why it is not necessary for them to be anxious. They follow:
- Verse 24 – The ravens do not sow or reap, nor do they have storehouses or barns but God feeds them. We are more much more valuable than birds.
- Verses 25-26 – We cannot add a single hour to our life. Since we can’t do this, why worry about anything else. In fact worry may shorten our lives.
- Verses 27-28 – The lilies of the field do nothing to obtain their beauty, yet their loveliness outshines Solomon’s splendor.
- Verses 29-30 – There is no reason to be concerned what we are to eat and drink. God our heavenly Father knows that we have need of both of these things.
- Verse 31 – When we seek his kingdom, God adds all of the above without any merit on our part.
- Verse 32 – We need not fear because God even gives his kingdom.
- Verse 33 – By not depending on our possessions and wealth, God gives moneybags that never grow old.
- Verse 34 – In the Bible the heart of the center of our being which includes our personality and priorities. We will treasure what has the highest priority for us.
Jesus encourages His disciples to trust in God, their heavenly Father, since He will provide for all their needs. We need to take this exhortation to heart, because our fallen nature makes it difficult to look past ourselves and depend on another. But God’s faithfulness far exceeds our needs. He provides as He sees fit, giving us an abundance that we may share with others.
Prayer: “Grant us hearts, dear Lord, to give You Gladly, freely of Your own. With the sunshine of Your goodness Melt our thankless hearts of stone Till our cold and selfish natures, Warmed by You, at length believe That more happy and more blessed ’Tis to give than to receive.” Amen. (LSB 851:2) (TLSB)