No worries?

“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.