“Who of you by
worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about
the rest?”
Though the saying may be 2000 years
old- you might have guessed that it’s one of Jesus’- it’s still true today. In
fact, science now tells us that worry and stress will shorten, rather than
lengthen it.
But, even as a Christian, I don’t
think that these words on their own offer much hope. If Jesus had stopped
there, then he might as well have scrawled it down on as an empty inspirational
quote on a public announcement board.
But, as you might have gathered, Jesus
went on to explain why he could tell us not to worry.
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour
or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed
like one of these. If 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 clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will
eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the [rest
of the] world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you
need them. But seek his kingdom, and these
things will be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell
your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that
will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no
thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luke 12:27-32
These
words have meant a lot to me in times of uncertainty. I heard a sermon on these
words during my AS exams. The Sunday before I got my results (which were
unexpectedly in alphabetical order), I heard another minister speak about the
same verses. And the same thing happened a year later, a few days before I got
my A Level results. Since then, I’ve come back to them every exam season. Now
that I’m in the midst of a discouraging job search, I find myself reading them
several times a week.
Glib
motivational sayings mean nothing to me because they are never spoken with
authority. Bob Marley may tell us that ‘every little thing will be all right’,
but how on earth would he know? Imagine saying that to someone with a terminal
illness.
I
feel the same thing when I see those ‘inspirational’ quotes on announcement
boards in tube stations. They try to reassure us by saying that something is in
control, but they rarely say what that thing is. Their words are powerless
because the person who writes them lacks the authority to tell us that
everything will work out.
 |
| Oh really? |
But
Jesus reassurances are different because He has the authority to say them. He
is God. Those who believe in Him don’t have to worry because the God who created
the flowers of the field is perfectly capable of looking after them. That doesn’t
mean that everything will be all
right. Even the most beautiful flower dies. But the point is that God is in
control even when that happens.
But
Jesus gives us another reason not to worry; “the
Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Those
who believe in Him don’t need to worry about their lives in this world because
there is another after it. The ultimate promise that Jesus makes is that there
is something more than the worry, stress and sadness of this world. He offers
Heaven to those who believe in Him. We may not be satisfied with this world,
but we will be satisfied in Heaven.
That’s
only reassuring, of course, if you believe that Jesus has the authority to make
that promise. If Heaven doesn’t exist, then those words can give us no hope. If
Jesus was just a great teacher, then His promises here are meaningless. He would
be a charlatan who could offer us nothing but His words would have no more
power than Bob Marley’s to say that ‘every
little thing will be all right’.
But
if He was more than a great teacher, then His words could not be more powerful.
