Then 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.
Luke 12:22 (NET)
Reasons Instead of a Method
She’s been up since the phone call, and by now everything that can be done is done. The bag is packed and the neighbor has the spare key. She sits on the end of the bed with her shoes on.
Jesus aims the order straight at that. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. It’s a command about the inside of a person. You can be told to give away your coat and have it done by lunch. Worry doesn’t work like the coat.
Jesus turns from the man with the full barns to his disciples, who had nothing to store. He had just finished telling the crowd about that man, whose barns were full the night he died.
How does she do it, sitting there with her shoes on?
Jesus offers reasons instead of a method, and the heaviest of them are about his Father. Your Father knows that you need them, he tells them. And this: do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. He grants them the list and answers it with the kingdom. He tells them what his Father already knows about it and what he has already decided to give.
He had already told these men they would be hauled in front of synagogues, so the order is given to people with that ahead of them. He had also sent them out once with no bag and no money, and they came back. He knows what they are like when there is nothing to do.
Her hands are empty. The men he said this to had nothing to store, and he started them from there.
A Prayer to Remember
God, I’ve done everything about this that can be done, and I haven’t been able to put it down. You know what’s on the list, and you knew before I started saying it. Give me the thing you gave them, the kingdom, and let me believe you about the rest.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
