Focus on today
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Matthew 6:25-30
Listen (NLT)
Read (NASB)
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?
You of little faith!
Reflect
I’m sure there are more birds in our back yard this week. Tui and Kereru. Tauhou. Piwakawaka. Blackbirds, finches, and of course the ubiquitous sparrows. Even some Australian parakeets, flown or blown over from the West Island. I wonder if cleaner air and less noise has made our places nicer places for birds to be. Or perhaps I’ve just been too busy and too absent to notice them before.
It’s amazing how much smaller the world has become for those of us in lockdown. A trip to the supermarket has become a centre piece of conversation. Minds used to planning how to maximise consumption and economic expansion now devise ways to entertain small children for the next hour or two. Elderly people get unprecedented levels of attention from children and grandchildren. Dogs can’t believe their luck! Birds in a back yard weave their way into online reflections. The things we do today have become the centre of our universe, because yesterday was much the same as today and tomorrow is out of our hands.
That sounds a lot like Jesus’ approach to life. Jesus was often captured by things of the moment. Children wanting a blessing. A poor widow putting coins in a collection box. A blind beggar at the side of the road. A sick woman in a crowd. These are part of the Christian story only because Jesus noticed them.
COVID19 is a dark cloud covering the world and devastating lives and communities. The sooner it is over the better. But is it just possible that we will come out a little more aware of the present? And will that be a bad thing? Just wondering.
Pray
Our Father in heaven, thank you for teaching us believers through nature such as the birds of the air and the grass of the field and how you care for them. May we seek your kingdom and your righteousness first and leave our cares in your capable hands. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray, amen.
