4 Do Not Worry
The final section of Matthew 6 deals with worry or anxiety.
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Matthew 6: 25 [NIV]
It is important not to miss the work therefore at the beginning of verse 25. The disciple of Jesus, as we have seen, is someone who stores up treasure in heaven rather than on earth; who walks in the light rather than the darkness; and who serves God rather than their own wealth.
For someone like that, Jesus continues, worry is out of place in our lives. We do not need to worry because our heavenly Father will look after us. Whether we are thinking about food, drink or clothing – three of the most important things in life – God will meet our needs.
Jesus could not have been oblivious to the fact that many, even among his most committed followers, do not get enough food or find it hard to get the money for clothes. But here his overarching theme is that we are not to spend time and energy worrying when we have a Heavenly Father who loves us.
Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of all anxiety. [Dietrich Bonhoeffer]
Lord Jesus, thank you that through your death for me on the cross, I have been put right with the Father. Thank you for suffering in my place, taking all my sin and guilt upon yourself. Thank you that I have been adopted as a child of God and can now live without worry. Amen.
David Long
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