"Do not worry."
Along with, “Do not be afraid,” this seems to be one of the most common admonitions in the Bible.
In one way or the other, God is telling people don’t worry, don’t be afraid for tomorrow, all the time, it seems.
So, why does God keep repeating Himself?
Because, it seems, worry and fear are endemic to the human condition.
In fact, worry and fear aren’t altogether unwarranted.
One reason for that: There are so many things that can and do go wrong in the world.
Another reason for fear and worry though, is that we’ve inherited this condition from Adam and Eve called sin. And sin’s basic impulse is identified all the way back in the Bible’s first book, Genesis. Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God told them not to eat because they wanted to “be like God.”
At root, every one of us is a control freak. We want things to go our way. We want them to go the way we think is right. We worry when we think they mightn’t go the ways we want to them to go.
So Jesus says, “Do not worry.”
But He doesn’t leave it there. Jesus isn’t telling us, like an old song, “Don’t worry. Be happy.”
Instead, Jesus gives us a reason for not worrying: God has everything under control. Even when things seem out of hand. God is still in control.
And God knows our every need and will provide for every need, even our need to forgive each other, to love each other, to work together to build a common life rooted in Christ, and to buck each other up with hope of eternity and with the certainty that our lives have value because Christ, God in the flesh, died and rose for us; that He is with us always, even in the most difficult places; and that He has created marriage to be a haven and a community of peace, of shalom, for a man and a woman, giving them a taste of that perfect peace and community that Christ will give His people in eternity.
So, Chris and Christina, know today that if you build your life on the God Who revealed Himself to Israel and, fully and definitively, in Jesus Christ, adversities will come. Tough decisions will need to be made. After all, this isn’t heaven.
But when you build on Christ, you needn’t worry.
God has things in hand.
He will hold you in His hand.
And, as you both commit yourselves to Christ and one another, He will renew the joy you have in each other again and again.
Don't worry; trust in Christ. Amen
Along with, “Do not be afraid,” this seems to be one of the most common admonitions in the Bible.
In one way or the other, God is telling people don’t worry, don’t be afraid for tomorrow, all the time, it seems.
So, why does God keep repeating Himself?
Because, it seems, worry and fear are endemic to the human condition.
In fact, worry and fear aren’t altogether unwarranted.
One reason for that: There are so many things that can and do go wrong in the world.
Another reason for fear and worry though, is that we’ve inherited this condition from Adam and Eve called sin. And sin’s basic impulse is identified all the way back in the Bible’s first book, Genesis. Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God told them not to eat because they wanted to “be like God.”
At root, every one of us is a control freak. We want things to go our way. We want them to go the way we think is right. We worry when we think they mightn’t go the ways we want to them to go.
So Jesus says, “Do not worry.”
But He doesn’t leave it there. Jesus isn’t telling us, like an old song, “Don’t worry. Be happy.”
Instead, Jesus gives us a reason for not worrying: God has everything under control. Even when things seem out of hand. God is still in control.
And God knows our every need and will provide for every need, even our need to forgive each other, to love each other, to work together to build a common life rooted in Christ, and to buck each other up with hope of eternity and with the certainty that our lives have value because Christ, God in the flesh, died and rose for us; that He is with us always, even in the most difficult places; and that He has created marriage to be a haven and a community of peace, of shalom, for a man and a woman, giving them a taste of that perfect peace and community that Christ will give His people in eternity.
So, Chris and Christina, know today that if you build your life on the God Who revealed Himself to Israel and, fully and definitively, in Jesus Christ, adversities will come. Tough decisions will need to be made. After all, this isn’t heaven.
But when you build on Christ, you needn’t worry.
God has things in hand.
He will hold you in His hand.
And, as you both commit yourselves to Christ and one another, He will renew the joy you have in each other again and again.
Don't worry; trust in Christ. Amen
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