The four posts in this series were part of a church-wide devotional I wrote about wealth and money. The devotional was given out to aid the congregation through our church’s recent building campaign. It consisted of ten entries, each centered around Jesus’s teachings on money in Luke 12. These four were the main entries, written in a blog-article style format, which is why I post them here.
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Luke 12:22–31
[22] And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. [23] For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. [24] Consider 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! [25] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [26] If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? [27] Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [28] But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! [29] And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. [30] For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
As we saw previously, Jesus right away clarifies his aim: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…” (Luke 12:22). In light of the Parable of the Rich Fool, he wants us, his followers, not be the type of people who are anxious about our lives. And before we even consider the rest of the paragraph, we should be encouraged at these first few words; we should take heart at such compassion. We have a God and Savior who not only did what was necessary to deliver us from our sins and grant us eternal life and joy forever, but aGod and Savior who cares so much about us that he personally cares about each of our lives and anxieties (see also 1 Peter 5:7). Our Savior and Friend loves each of us that much.
Which brings us to the rest of Jesus’s teaching. In this paragraph, Jesus displays he cares about our anxiety over money. But that’s not it. He also gives us reasons why we don’t need to be anxious. So the question we must ask is: What are the reasons Jesus gives for why we don’t need to be anxious? It’s one thing to command us not to be anxious; it’s another thing altogether to give reasons why we don’t need to be. Knowing this, Jesus gives us two reasons why.
Reason #1: We Live in a God-Controlled World
The first reason Jesus shows for why we don’t need to be anxious is that God provides for his creation—for things like the birds, lilies, and grass—and we are much more valuable than any of these. As you might have noticed, this is the majority of the paragraph. And this is something we especially need to consider today.
Unfortunately, in a culture and era obsessed with naturalism and science, we can forget that there is technically no such thing as natural events which happen apart from God. When the wind blows, when the birds find food, when the grass grows, it isn’t just happening. Instead, the Bible teaches that our all-powerful God is sovereignly bringing these events about (see Matthew 10:29; Psalm 147:8-9). Because God does these things consistently, we scientifically observe and call them “laws of nature.” But we as Christians know this isn’t what they ultimately are. Instead, God is doing them. “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). He is totally in control over all (including us). We live in a completely God-controlled world. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).
But what does this all have to do with money and anxiety? Jesus says that this total-sovereignty of God over all creation, and the daily occurrences of provision we see in nature—whether it be in the survival of birds, the growing of grass, or the continual upkeep of the earth—should provide us with encouragement to not be anxious. Why? Because, as Jesus says plainly in verse 24, “Of how much more value are you than the birds!” Or as he says in Matthew 10:31, “Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” The point is that if God so carefully acts and provides in nature, he will even more so carefully act and provide in your life.
Jesus puts this as the first reason we do not need to be anxious about our wealth: We live in a God-controlled universe. Our God clearly provides for things like the birds, lilies, and grass, and yet we are “of much more value” than all these things. So why would we think he wouldn’t provide for us?
Reason #2: We Live in a Fathered World
Yet Jesus doesn’t leave us there. He could’ve just told us that we have a powerful God who values us more than birds, but the good news of Christ is better than that. In Luke 12:30 Jesus gives us a second, superior reason for why we don’t need to be anxious: our Father knows all we need.
It’s one thing to say that God is powerful, controls his creation, and values us as human beings. But we might still object, “It’s great he’s big and values me, but what does that mean? What does it look like?” Jesus’s answer here is that he loves you as a Father loves a child.
In other words, we do not only live in a God-controlled world, we live in “a Fathered world” (a term taken from Tim Chester’s excellent book Enjoying God). We live in a world controlled by not just our all-powerful God, but our all-loving Father.
Jesus says it’s because of this that we can have peace and security without feeling the need to accumulate wealth for ourselves like the rich fool. We do not need to be worried like others are. Why? Because, as Jesus says, “your Father knows” what you need (see Luke 12:29-30). We truly do live in a Fathered world—a world that is run and controlled by “our Father who is in heaven.” (And it’s from this recognition of our Father’s total control that generosity can flow, which is what we’ll see next in our devotionals.)
In sum, we do not need to be anxious or live like the rich fool who excessively stored up his goods. Why? Because we live in a God-controlled, Fathered universe. And this means we do not need to be fixated on our monetary wealth. We instead can joyfully and freely use it for his good purposes and be “rich toward God.”
So ask yourself: What does this all mean for me and my family? Since my Savior and Friend tells me I don’t need to be anxious about money, and since my Father (who loves me more than I could ever fathom) controls the entire universe, how can I therefore have more faith and be more generous? What might this look like?
Prayer: Father, thank you that you truly are my Father because of the gospel. Because this is true, I do not need to be anxious or afraid of finances. You will provide—I trust you, but still help me in my areas of unbelief. And because you are my Father, help me to live a life of radical generosity. As your Son taught here, it’s those who don’t know you who fixate on their own accumulation of wealth and security. But since I know you, and that you, my heavenly Father, control the universe, I don’t need to be like them. So direct me where you’d like me to go with my money and resources. Help me to seek first your kingdom with my wealth, and to trust that you know what’s best for me. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
