Luke 12:27-28 - "Consider the
lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes
the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the
furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!"
This is closely tied to what I talked about yesterday. Jesus says this in the same discourse in Luke 12 and also in Matthew 6. It's very clear in both of these chapters that God doesn't want us to worry or become anxious about these trivial earthly things. God doesn't want us to be focused on ourselves and how we are going to feed or clothe ourselves. He wants us to focus on Him and His kingdom, and all these things will be added to us.
Jesus told a parable in Luke 12:16-23 that led up to this exhortation. There we read - "And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing."
Jesus is very clear. He directly commands us in Matthew 6:19 - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth." God didn't create us for this world, and He doesn't want us to spend all the time that He has given us worrying about earthly things. We can look at the grass, and consider the lilies. Flowers don't last very long, but God in His goodness has clothed His creation in beauty even though it will soon perish, and will He not do the same for us? Several places in Scripture we're told that our lives are like the grass which withers, and whose flower fades, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the fire. Our lives are short. How much time are we going to spend concerning ourselves with what we should wear? We spend so much time trying to keep up with the fashions, and wear the latest styles, and we spend the resources that He has given us so that we can fit in better in the world. I don't think God cares if we're keeping up with the last fashions. He's more concerned with the heart. The eternal things. God will clothe you, don't be anxious.
Matthew 6:31-33 - "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
This is closely tied to what I talked about yesterday. Jesus says this in the same discourse in Luke 12 and also in Matthew 6. It's very clear in both of these chapters that God doesn't want us to worry or become anxious about these trivial earthly things. God doesn't want us to be focused on ourselves and how we are going to feed or clothe ourselves. He wants us to focus on Him and His kingdom, and all these things will be added to us.
Jesus told a parable in Luke 12:16-23 that led up to this exhortation. There we read - "And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing."
Jesus is very clear. He directly commands us in Matthew 6:19 - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth." God didn't create us for this world, and He doesn't want us to spend all the time that He has given us worrying about earthly things. We can look at the grass, and consider the lilies. Flowers don't last very long, but God in His goodness has clothed His creation in beauty even though it will soon perish, and will He not do the same for us? Several places in Scripture we're told that our lives are like the grass which withers, and whose flower fades, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the fire. Our lives are short. How much time are we going to spend concerning ourselves with what we should wear? We spend so much time trying to keep up with the fashions, and wear the latest styles, and we spend the resources that He has given us so that we can fit in better in the world. I don't think God cares if we're keeping up with the last fashions. He's more concerned with the heart. The eternal things. God will clothe you, don't be anxious.
Matthew 6:31-33 - "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
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