“Look at the birds of the air…. Consider the lilies of the field…. But seek first the kingdom of God….” – Matthew 6:26, 28, 33
I still remember one of Pastor Dennis’ encouragement to me as a young pastor, learning how to study a passage of scripture: “Look at the verbs.” The verbs are where the action of the passage is. To this day, one of the first things I do when approaching the text is to look at the verbs. As we come to our passage this week, there are several verbs, but because Jesus is teaching us something, it is most important to look at the commands. The first command is a negative one, which sets up the topic that Jesus is teaching, “do not be anxious…” As we all know, this is not an easy thing to do. No one has been cured of anxiety from someone yelling “Stop it!” For that reason, Jesus gives us 3 other commands: “look,” “consider,” and “seek.”
Let’s begin by observing the first two: “look” and “consider.” Have you ever considered these as commands from our Savior? “Look at the birds of the air.” I wonder if Jesus would have a strong word for us who are so often stuck inside looking at screens we can put in our pockets. Would he say, “No wonder you are so anxious! Go outside and look at the birds. I mean it. Get out there. Now!” Then to those who are overwhelmed with life, he might say, “Just go sit down in a field and contemplate the flowers. Admire their beauty. Oh, and by the way, this is a command, so treat it as such!” What would happen if we listened to Jesus and chose to get out into nature as a regular part of a healthy spiritual rhythm? Could it be that he might have some answers for why we deal with so much anxiety?
While birds and flowers are beautiful, the piece of nature that can calm down my stress is the ocean. I love the first site of the ocean, even if it is in my car as I am pulling up to the beach. A wave of peace washes over me. To me, the ocean is like this big void that absorbs my stress and reminds me that God is much bigger than my problems. This is what Jesus is getting at. He is suggesting we all need something to remind us that our little problems are not as important as we think they are. And it is only when we can get to that place, we can begin to follow the final command: “Seek first the kingdom of God.” When I am worried about everything else, it is really difficult to have the perspective to live with a kingdom mindset. However, when we can learn from Jesus, and enjoy the birds, the lilies, the ocean, sunsets, mountains, a tree, or a trail, then we might be able to turn our gaze outward toward what God might have for us.
Josh Rose
Family Pastor