Wednesday 28th August
Read Matthew 6:25-27
“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 than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (NIVUK)
Jesus’ basic argument is from the lesser to the greater, and it is an argument that is widespread in Scripture. If God provides for the birds, who clearly live hour-to-hour, how much more will He provide for us, who have greater needs and in whom there is greater divine investment. Because we are valued we should not worry about the basics.
But when some are struggling to provide the basic necessities of life for their families, the logic of the argument is almost offensive. They seem like mere words. After all, suffering and deprivation afflict an enormous number of people, Christian or not. Surely worry is appropriate in those circumstances.
Perhaps one of the reasons behind such frequent use of this argument, from the lesser to the greater, is because it builds in perspective. It demands we reflect on who we are and where we stand in the world (i.e above birds but beneath God).
It certainly seems to work that way in Romans. Paul is writing about the widespread experience of suffering, in the world and amongst God’s people, but calls for a change in perspective. Consider this argument from the lesser to the greater…
‘What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ (Romans 8:31-32) (NIVUK)
