“Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
- Luke 12:31
This week, Jesus is teaching His disciples in front of thousands of people. For the most part, Jesus is focused on His disciples, but Jesus also takes the time to recognize and teach the crowd as well. He wastes no time getting to the heart of these issues as well. He has the Kingdom in mind and addresses very real issues that the disciples and the crowds were facing, and many of us still face today. Much of this chapter comes down to the anxieties we have in life and our salvation, and too frequently our takeaway is merely, “Do not be anxious!” Yet, that emphasis on the negative never properly directs us to the positive truths and experiences that Jesus is teaching, as He seeks to replace our fleshy anxieties with Kingdom desires.
You are Valued:
Jesus sees our fear of death. Of the threats that come against our life, and He has a strange way of validating that fear. For some of us, fear of dying is already too much, but Jesus takes it another step further not only about death but about fearing God’s choice of where we spend eternity! Essentially, others can end our mortal life, but God gets to choose our placement for eternal life. How this is supposed to be comforting and encouraging?
Jesus likely notices some caged sparrows amidst the crowd. He says they are worth a couple of pennies; they have a value attached to them by man. Jesus tells the disciples to consider the sparrows, that if the sparrows are loved and valued by God and we make them worth only a couple of pennies, how much more valuable are you to God? We are valuable to God, and we can rest in that peace when it comes to our eternity! God does not and will not take His judgments lightly, but will be factoring in our value to him. Jesus assures His disciples, “Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.”
And if we have a worth that is of eternal significance to God, does that not also fill you with a felt worth for today?
You are Empowered:
Jesus further teaches that the apostolic life will be one of the great challenges. The disciples are on a rough track as they choose to follow Christ and make Him known to the world. It will be a life of trial and challenge. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and skip to the Book of Acts, also written by Luke, or do some research into the early church and its persecution under Rome. Yet, a Kingdom as glorious and good and invasive as Jesus’, it should not shock us that the nations of the world can become threatened by it. The Church has been a Spirit-filled and empowered grassroots movement bringing about the implications of the Gospel into this broken world since Pentecost. Redemption and restoration in the name of Jesus has been the Church’s drumbeat! And as Jesus tells them, “Don’t be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
God empowers us, never leaving us alone or cut from His presence, but in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, allowing us to carry on the loving mission of the Kingdom.
Satisfied by God:
Jesus also knows our heart's concerns go beyond just our life and our purpose though. He knows our hearts can be consumed by consumption! We desire things, gluttons for food, drink, and merry times. We can be strategic and entrepreneurial but satisfy our endless love for money. We tend to want now what we do not have and quite frankly do not need. Modesty and moderation are hardly known these days. Contentment has largely left our vocabulary. Yet what Jesus wants for us is to have not riches, but only enjoy a rich relationship with the Father. We are not to be anxious about achieving our wants, but find peace in that God values us and will meet our needs.
Again, Jesus looks out into the fields, directing the crowd's attention to the Ravens and the Lilies. The Raven can’t farm nor store its gatherings in barns, yet God feeds it plenty! The Lilies grow under God’s care despite harsh conditions and are clothed more splendidly than any dress we can design. Excess food, clothing, and riches are not for us to pursue, though the nations of this world may do that. Yet for us, our pursuit is God’s kingdom, and if He highly values us, then our needs will be met, and we will always have enough. With our excess, we should store it away not in chests or banks, but in His kingdom, lumping it in with God’s Kingdom mission of generosity and helping meet needs. Helping us be satisfied by God, and being part of His people that meet other’s needs.
Faithful Servants:
Now before us is a Kingdom mission and we must not be caught sleeping when the master returns. We must carry on the tasks assigned with faithful stewardship. Carrying forward the gospel in word and deed.
Jesus also reveals that some will become neglectful in their duties. Some will get lazy and decide to break into the master's food and drink, thus not only failing to serve faithfully but also failing at being satisfied by God. These are pastors and people who have used the church to make themselves obtusely wealthy. Jesus also warns against abusive leaders, both physically abusive, but also mentally and emotionally abusive, those who use their authority and influence to harm and destroy. These are not God’s faithful servants. God’s servants carry on God’s redemptive and restorative mission of grace and mercy. So be faithful with the faith.
Final Blessings:
There’s a lot in this chapter, but it all pointed to seeking the Kingdom of God. This is not a message of, “do not be anxious,” as sometimes it is preached tone deaf to mental illness. Instead, this is a reordering of our desires, away from the world's way of handling life, purpose, materialism, and influence and giving a Kingdom lens to our worth, empowerment, contentment, and faithfulness.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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