22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothes you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32Do not be afraid, little flock, for you Father has been please to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
*Study Bible notes*
-Does Jesus command us not to worry? (12:22)
Jesus does not give a command so much as an invitation to rest in the arms of a loving Father. As humans, we will at times cross the line and fret when we should trust. But only when we allow ourselves to constantly focus on ourselves instead of God do we violate Jesus' principle. He gave it to us as a liberating principle, not as another law to worry about.
-Does Christ really want us to sell all our possessions? (12:33-34)
Jesus' concern is that our possessions do not possess us. Some have felt that God wanted them to take a vow of poverty, learning to trust him by giving away everything they owned to help the poor. Others look to other verses in the Bible to help interpret this one. They believe the point here is that all we have belongs to God. But he gives us the responsibility to manage those possessions in ways that will honor him and accomplish his will.
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2 comments:
What a great post Tori! A good reminder to all of us to not worry about things - God's in control! I really like the notes at the bottom too! Good things to thing about and keep in mind when we start to take things back from Him. Mari has a post about "worry" too - hmmm... maybe this is a big problem for all of us lately! I commented to her too about the phrase "let go and let God". We just need to keep giving it back to Him EVERY time we take it back!
LOVE IT! Thanks for the encouragement!
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