Dear Lilies,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed as one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34
Oh dear lilies, I know you probably have heard this passage taught and meditated on it in your head, but please, pause for just a few minutes and read my letter to you.
These words, yes, each one of those words from Matthew 6:25-34 are straight out of the mouth of Jesus. “Do not worry” is not just a suggestion, a helpful comment, a line written in a self-help book, or even an inspirational quote by a famous Christian author or speaker.
This is a command. This is a command from Christ Jesus, to us, his children. Don’t let the word command scare or intimidate you, because in 1 John 5: 3-4, we are reassured that “…his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.”
Okay great, so his commands will not be burdens on us, but why does it really matter? Does it really matter to follow and obey God’s commands? In 2 John 1:6 Paul writes that "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.”
Am I saying that love is equal to obedience to His commands?
Yes.
Right about now you may be wondering, "Where are you going with this?" Stick with me. Go back to verse 28.
"See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed as one of these."
In the ESV, “see how” is replaced by the word “consider". So we have “Consider the lilies of the field…” In Greek, this word “consider” is katamanthano, which means, to learn thoroughly, or to note carefully.
To me, this is a pretty hefty command. I mean, have you ever really looked at a lily? I’m not talking about the ones you see in Publix or Fresh Market, yes those are nice, but I’m talking about driving down the road in the middle of nowhere, looking out the window and seeing miles and miles of little lilac specs. Better yet, your car broke down on the side of the road, again, in the middle of nowhere, you scrawl out, scrambling to call AAA and what do we see (or step on)? Those blasted... lilies. A row of dainty darlings – wildflowers. These insignificant darlings. Consider them?
Yes.
Because when we see these flowers, endless in their possible array of colors, boundless in their expansion and growth, helpless in their own might, and entirely dependent on nothing or no one except their Gracious and Loving Creator, we are to consider.
He plants them
He causes the rain to fall to water them
He causes the sun to shine just enough for them to grow
He makes them b e a u t i f u l
Oh, that we would consider. Oh, that we would be like these lilies. Completely dependent on our Creator. Completely comfortable in the vessels God has formed us each into. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, we did nothing in our own power to enter this world, and we do nothing in our own power to enter the next – an eternity of pure peace, praising our precious Lord and Savior. No, we simply believe that Jesus, in his perfection, died a gruesome death on the cross, satisfying the justice of God by paying for the sins of the entire universe, forever. In one fail swoop, Jesus conquered the grave so that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
He has given us life
He has given us the bread of life, his word
He has given us water, wells of salvation that never run dry
He is the light the shines down on us at all times, no matter the time of day
Dear Lilies, let us consider what our Savior has commanded us to think about. You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. You are never too far-gone for the hand of our Creator, Caretaker and Counselor to pick you up.
Until next time.
Love in Christ,
Sarah