“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?” Matt. 6.26
Jesus is talking to His listeners in everyday
language. Sowing, reaping, and storing in barns would have been among the most
common of daily activities of the time. Jesus lived in an agrarian society.
Just about everyone would have understood the message He was giving to them.
Likewise, with His reference to
the birds of the air. The people could clearly recognise the reality of God’s
provision to bird life, and the lack of application by the birds to the basic
provisions of living. They simply took hold of what God provided!
Jesus was not saying, “Do not
work. Do not endeavour to provide for your needs.” Rather, I think He was
saying something like, “Know how much God loves you. And this is
not because of anything you do. God created you so that He could love you.
You are, perhaps, the most valuable of
all of His creation. Will you let Him love you? Will you open yourselves to
receive the love He has for you? You have a choice. God is not a tyrant who
will impose His will on you. But my Father will bless you as you respond to Him
in love and Godly fear.”
I know how God provides for the
birds of the air. He may choose to provide for me in similar ways. Whether He
does so or not, I cherish most the relationship of love that He has drawn me
into. I thank Him, in love.
Most Precious Father and Almighty God,
I thank You for Your every provision to me. I am most grateful. I thank
You most of all for the relationships You afford to me – with You in Trinity,
and with the whole of Your world.
My book “God Talk” is available through major Internet booksellers.
A taste of the book's content can be seen in the You Tube clip (Search: Peter Francis - "God Talk").
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