Looking Back Over Jesus’ Life
A reflection on the Temptation Story in Matthew 6:30
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:25-33)
Right here in the middle of teaching on anxiety and worry, Jesus makes a statement that commands attention —- “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:30
Do I fall into this category from time to time? Do I sometimes act like “a person of little faith”?
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said that “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Pastor and author Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking defines faith as “better understood as a verb than a noun, as a process than as a possession. It is on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. A journey without maps.”
It seems that faith is something that we put into practice. It is trusting that the God who takes care of the flowers and the birds, whose “eye is on the sparrow”, is also watching over us. Faith may mean pausing often when we are facing challenges in life, to consider to whom we belong. Trust then becomes an action.
As I go through this day, help me to trust that You love and care for me, and that I can find the right path for my journey by walking with my Lord and Savior Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.