God our wonderful provider

‘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 than food, and the body more 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?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like 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 – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” 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. Matthew 6: 25 – 33

When our sons were younger, they used to burst in through the front door after school and cry, ‘Feed me!’ They then rushed to the fridge and cupboard to rootle around till they found what they wanted to eat and drink.

There was no hanging back cautiously to see if it was alright to come into the house or to raid the fridge. They didn't beg or plead with me. This was their home, I was their mother and therefore it was perfectly acceptable to expect to be fed without any begging or argument. 

Not only so but provision was assured. Apart from the odd day when I may not have been shopping, it was expected that food would be on hand.  Children expect their parents to feed them as well as protect and shelter them.

Why then as Christians do we have so much trouble relying on God to be our heavenly provider?  He is our Father and wants to look after us just as we want to look after our children. Most parents would be horrified if their children spurned their provision and went off to the shops to buy their own things. It is one of the joys of parenthood to provide for your children.

God does not want us worrying about money, food, clothes, jobs, homes and so on. We can expect God to provide these. That is his privilege as our Father and it is our privilege to receive them as his children with thankful hearts.

The key to this provision is to seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; to put God, his ways, his lifestyle above all else. At the start of a new year let’s resolve to seek God in all we do and to stop worrying about life and let God be the provider he longs to be. 

Honour your father and mother

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honour your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  ⁵ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶ he is not to ‘honour his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. Matthew 15: 3 – 6

The Pharisees came to Jesus to complain about why his disciples were not keeping the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they ate.  I find it interesting that of all the examples Jesus could have used to show their hypocrisy, he used God’s command to honour your father and mother.  The Jewish leaders had introduced a huge number of  ‘traditions’ for the people to follow which were weighing them down with their demands and they were even being used to circumvent God’s laws.  Jesus took them back to God’s law and reminded them that not keeping it, even for what sounds like a very good reason, was not right and his commands were far more important that the traditions of the elders.

In the Ten Commandments it actually says ‘Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you’ Exodus 20:12. It was not just a social nicety to honour your parents but had a condition attached to it of living long in the land.

In this day and age it is vital that Christians promote a positive attitude to parenting by both helping our children honour us and not let them be disrespectful and by being gracious and appreciative of our parents.  Most parents need all the help they can get – it has to be one of the most difficult jobs to do well – and God regards it as vital. Bringing up children in his ways with a proper respect for others is essential.

For some it is an easy thing to honour parents but for others whose parents may have been abusive or have deserted them, it can be very hard. Honouring them can feel like eating sawdust – it chokes them. However God did not say honour your parents when they make a good job of it or are nice to you.  Honouring is unconditional. So how can we do this for parents who have not been good to us? I believe the way we talk about our parents is vital. If we have or had good parents let’s be thankful and appreciative even if they have become difficult in old age and even if they were the most dreadful people let us honour God by being gracious and forgiving to them. Letting go of the past brings release to our lives and not speaking ill of bad parents honours us. 

Even the best parents make mistakes but it is always a shame when we only fully appreciate them after they have gone. So whether dead or alive, good or bad let’s talk positively to and about our parents and honour God as we honour them.