Jesus said, “So
don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself...”
—
Matthew 6:34a (USC)
Jesus doesn’t
say, “Don’t worry.” He might otherwise say, “Be concerned only for the right
things.”
We have to get our
contexts right so far as distress is concerned. It frankly isn’t fair to preach
a gospel of righteousness and peace and not give people an out so far as
dealing with the anxieties common to life.
Anxiety is common to life.
Let’s get that
straight to begin with.
The Hope of the
world made a way for us to get through, worries intact, dignifying our cares,
and even vouchsafing them. Our Lord walks with us in our trials. He tackles
with us the challenges that all but break us. And having himself been broken — having
himself been tormented with many disparate anxieties — the final hours of his
life, a testimony to that truth — Jesus is our ideal companion through the
myriad trials and snares common to
life.
The commonality of
existence is anxiety ranging from bliss to torment.
Talking in ways of
reality — the intrepid nature of change in life, the threats of loss, the
massive complexities implicit in our relationships, not to mention the ever-prevailing
demands of life — and there are many more causes — we can only hope to get
through, indeed thrive, by relying on a Lord who has been there, and overcome.
Jesus wants us to
know that he understands the real concerns we have. He doesn’t begrudge us the
experience of anxiety without his empathy. But where our concerns merge into
the vanity of ‘stuff’ and we find ourselves wedded to the superficial, Jesus’
Spirit will rebuke us.
So for some
anxieties we have the Lord’s intention of care; his promise of journeying with
us, he who will be our relief the moment we draw freshly upon his Presence.
For other anxieties,
Jesus will challenge their veracity. To be concerned about what we will graze
on and how we look is a folly of superficiality. Jesus wants us to work beyond
these petty aims for comfort. Let the Lord be our comfort.
Consider Jesus’ yoke
light in the midst of life’s real anxieties. Consider Jesus’ burden easy in the
midst of life’s true cares. He who will never leave us nor forsake us will
carry us lightly and make our journeys just a little easier.
***
QUESTIONS in REVIEW:
1. Where has Jesus come through
already so far as alleviating the common concern of life?
2. If you haven’t yet experienced
such a thing, how can you pray for such an experience?
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
Note: USC version is Under the Southern Cross, The New Testament in Australian English
(2014). This translation was painstakingly developed by Dr. Richard Moore, a NT
Greek scholar, over nearly thirty years.
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