The Disciple’s Faith:The Liberty of Faith
Matthew 6:25-34
The Invitation to Trust in God (v. 25)
- How will my necessities be met?
- What is most necessary?
The Examples of Trust in God (vv. 26-30)
- Look at the birds of the air: God feeds them
- Consider the lilies of the field: God adorns them
The Liberty through Trusting in God (vv. 31-34)
- The enslaving focus of the lost
- The liberating faith of the saved
More to Consider
Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, missionary Adoniram Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, "Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?", with a sneer on his face. His instant reply was, "The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God." The Presbyterian Advance
Sir Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary in Labrador, found himself adrift on an ice flow, headed out to sea. He mercifully killed his dogs, made a coat out of their hides, put up a distress flag, and lay down and slept. Later he said, "There was nothing to fear. I had done all I could, the rest lay in God's hands." Donald Campbell, Daniel, Decoder of Dreams, p. 20.
The ‘worldliness’ which Christians are to avoid can take either a religious or a secular shape. So we are to differ from non-Christians not only in our devotions, but also in our ambitions. In particular, Christ changes our attitude to material wealth and possessions. It is impossible to worship both God and money; we have to choose between them. Secular people are preoccupied with the quest for food, drink and clothing. Christians are to be free of these self-centred material anxieties and instead to give themselves to the spread of God’s rule and God’s righteousness. That is to say, our supreme ambition is to be the glory of God, and neither our own glory nor even our own material well-being. It is a question of what we ‘seek first’. John Stott
