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Do Not Worry About Your Life
Brian Mashburn
June 12, 2016
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Say What?
I consider myself blessed to have been raised in a church family. They weren't perfect, of course, but neither was I, so I fit right in.
One of the core beliefs that they exalted was the idea that we wanted to be people who followed the Bible. I often heard Paul's words in 1 Timothy 3:16 quoted, where he declares that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." I believed it then, I believe it now.
But as I grew up and read the scripture more and more, I found it interesting that while we claimed that "all" scripture was worthy of our faithfulness, we were somewhat selective about which ones we held each other to. In particular, there are some statements in scripture - very simple to understand and plain spoken scripture, mind you - that we Christians spent our time arguing against, or explaining away, or defending ourselves from, rather than believing and surrendering to.
This summer, I'd like us to consider some of the simple, forthright statements of scripture that we at least find hard to follow, if not difficult to believe. Statements that make us pause and say, "say what????"
Let's begin with a doozy. A deceptively simple command that is not only in our Bible, but in the mouth of Jesus whom we call Lord. "Do not worry about your life." (Matthew 6:25)
Say what, Jesus? What kind of command is this? Who among us can do it? Why would you lift such a high standard? What does it mean when I fail to follow it?
Perhaps we can begin by simply admitting the good side of this: God desires for us a worry-free life. If it is indeed yours for the taking, do you want it? I do.