Devotions

This is the devotion I shared with our congregational council at our May meeting.

A reading from Luke, chapter 12 (Luke 12:22-34)

²²[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

³²“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

This passage is probably fairly well known. For all that it says, it might just hinge on one verse it the midst of it all. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” If we were able to get our hearts and minds around those few words and believe them then the rest of it would probably all fall into place. But if we can’t come to believe that then it becomes hard to believe any of it.

The thing is, some people do not have enough clothing, or food, or many of the other things they need. It’s easy, then, to conclude that there isn’t enough to go around. And even for those who have plenty, who have more than enough, even they, we, can fall prey to the story of the world that we need to toil and worry and scheme and covet to get just as much as we possibly can for ourselves.

But if you believe that God really does want to give us the kingdom and all good things, then a worldview of scarcity evaporates. It gets replaced by a sense of abundance. When we can trust that God provides for our needs, not only do we discover that we have enough for ourselves but we also realize that we can share with others. Trusting that God provides, we realize that the reason some don’t have their basic needs met is not because there’s not enough, but that too many of us, dominated by a sense of scarcity, don’t share what we have.

If we trust that God provides, then we discover that worrying really is a waste of time. Not only does worrying not add an hour to our life, but—as medical research has shown—it actually decreases both the length and the quality of our lives. When trust replaces worry we find all kinds of time and energy to devote to serving others.

Shifting from a scarcity outlook to one of abundance takes time. We’ve believed the lie of scarcity so long that it’s hard to believe it’s not true. To help us along it might just help us to repeat that verse to ourselves. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It’ll also help to practice it by sharing a little more of what we have with others. Generosity and trust are like muscles, and by exercising them we can grow in these traits.

Let’s pray.

Loving God, remind us of your promises and help us to believe them. In Jesus’ name, Amen

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