Consider the Lilies!
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” - Luke 12:22-34
Jesus spoke these words to his disciples and I am blown away by what kind of conversation this must have been. In these few verses Jesus reveals to them some of the most profound wisdom that is found in Christianity. It's not the most complex wisdom but if we put it into action in our lives it can be some of the most powerful.
We will start at the beginning. Jesus tells his followers not to worry about food or clothing. Now for us we have to adjust our perspective because honestly most of us have never truly had to worry deeply over having food or having clothes to wear. Jesus didn't choose these two items because there was a shortage of them on the earth then or now but rather because they are basic human necessities. Jesus and Baloo from The Jungle Book are on the same page here. Jesus is speaking about the "bear necessities" as a calibration for their (and our) hearts to reassure them just how much their Heavenly Father cares for them. Look to the ravens or the lilies, they don't build barns or work for what they have and yet God still provides food for them. The lilies, Jesus says, are more beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all of his glory not because they have a top stylist but because God provides for them.
Jesus then goes deeper by saying that none of us can add to ourselves by any of our own plans or ideas. Not even in the matters of food or clothing can we really gain anything from our own works. So if we can't handle the bare minimum we need to survive then why would we think we can add wisdom, peace, joy, or love to our lives by our own strength? Jesus clearly states how unimportant the lilies are and how they are admired one day then die or are destroyed the next. If God would clothe something as insignificant as them then what would he not do to clothe those who he deeply loves?
Jesus clearly understands two things that make this teaching so awesome. The first is that his disciples and us now will be prone to wanting to look to ourselves for the answers in our lives. From things as simple as worrying about our next meal to figuring out our moral guidelines, humanity always seems to think we ourselves have it "figured out". The second thing is that Jesus knows that when we do fall into this way of thinking that if we depend on ourselves we are all destined to fail. Jesus tells them that all the nations of the world seek after these things but that God knows his people have need of them. And rather than for us to spend our time worrying about temporal things Jesus is pushing his disciples into seeking greater, holy, heavenly things.
Jesus teaches that our sight should be set upon the kingdom of God. As daunting of a challenge as that may seem, He reassures the disciples by telling them that God wants to give us that kingdom. What we are seeking is wanting to be found. It is not hiding and running from us but in plain sight and moving towards us as we seek towards it. "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also." Like if Jesus walks up to me and drops that into my life then how could they refuse to chase after Gods kingdom?! Knowing that the Father sent the Son to teach us all we would need to know and that at this moment the Sons instruction is to not worry or plan but instead run full speed ahead towards God's kingdom and everything else will be added to it along the way. The things we love will be the things we store away and cherish. If our heart is in this world then we will desire to store money, comfort, and accomplishments for ourselves. If our heart is focused on the kingdom of God then we will desire to gain holiness, love, peace, and joy. The difference is when we "store up" treasures for the kingdom of God we don't put them in a storage unit or a forgotten hallway closet but instead we store them inside of the people around us. When we are given love, love isn't something we take home and put in a shoe-box under the bed. Jesus knows that those who will seek holy treasures will invest those treasures in others. There is no bank for joy. It's something that to be truly expressed it must be shared. Peace, love, hope, contentment, patience, meekness, and all other holy treasures are all the same. They're only really obtained when they are given away.
Jesus knows the struggle and the obstacles we would face in seeking God's kingdom because all of his earthly life was spent in this effort. Jesus had walked the walk that backed up these words. Jesus also was there when God formed man from the dust of the earth and knew this wouldn't be easy for us. So Jesus came teaching us the correct attitude to have and the right treasures to seek so that we could spend our lives worshiping our Father the same way he had.
This teaching is amazing. It's wonderfully said. It's encouragingly comforting. It's so many things to so many people. But as great as the words of Christ are the fact that he isn't asking us to do something that he himself hadn't already done is what truly makes the difference. Friends, family, coworkers, teachers, and even complete strangers will give you all kinds of advice about how to live your life. Remember though Jesus is the only one who speaks with authority from above and from a position of someone who has truly been there and has already overcome anything you go through.
