series: fear and fear not

What should be the main pursuit of our life? Jesus states in Luke 12 that life is not about our material wealth or the comfort of our possessions. He also says that life is not even about survival and meeting our most basic human needs. So, what then is to be the chief pursuit of our life? The driving reason for our existence? Jesus teaches here that the main pursuit of life must be life the Kingdom of God, and the gain of eternal treasures in heaven. The world lives to survive and then beyond to gain wealth and meaning in life by finding self-esteem and fulfilling self-ambition, but that is not the truth about what we created for. God designed us for His glory and for His purpose. He created a Kingdom in which He is the King, but His design was to rule His creation through the ones He created in His image. Sin derailed that design, but Jesus came to bring His redemptive Kingdom to those who believe.

There are all kinds of things in the world that can threaten our very existence. The universal response to these threats is anxiety. The result of anxiety is that it prevents us from truly following God or doing His will. Worry drives us to live to care for our daily needs and comfort, rather than seeking God’s Kingdom. Jesus teaches here that we are not to worry about the basic needs of life, nor make this the chief pursuit of our lives. Instead, we are to trust in God as a loving Father who has the power and the heart to take care of us. Faith is seeing with our spiritual eyes what our physical eyes cannot see – 1) that God will take care of us, 2) that our existence lies in God’s Kingdom not in this world, and 3) that we can be storing up an eternal treasure in heaven by our actions here on earth.

There are all kinds of things in the world that can threaten our very existence. The universal response to these threats is anxiety. Modern man has worked hard to reduce these threats, and thus our anxiety, by building into our lives layers of security that are intended to safeguard us from risk. But, no matter how hard we try to make life safe, worry is still very much a part of life. We may not worry that we are going to starve to death, but under all the layers that is exactly what we are worried about. So, we seek job security, we buy insurance policies, we form labor unions, we have pension funds and savings accounts. We expect the Government to protection us through programs life Social Welfare, Social Security, and government insurance programs that protect the money we put in the bank (FDIC). Jesus says this may be normal for the world, but it is not to be a part of the life of a disciple. The result of anxiety is that it bogs us down in a quagmire of worry that prevents us from truly following God or doing His will. So, we are not to worry about the basic needs of life. Instead we are to trust in God who is our Father. He has the power and the desire to care for us, and to sustain our life. We must trust God with our life. When we have confident faith in God's loving, complete, and generous care we are able to focus on His will and His kingdom. We can live sacrificially and give generously, pouring our life into those things that are eternal and that resonate with the heart of God.

What makes life worth living? Another way to ask the question is, “What is it that makes up life?” A modern definition would very likely be - What makes life worth living is the consumption of goods to the gratification of our selfish desires. That is what life is about for the overwhelming majority of people! But Jesus teaches something radically different. He teaches that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. Rather, our life gains its fullest meaning and purpose, and we come to find true joy in relationships, in doing God's will, in loving God and others, in the Kingdom of God, in that which is eternal, in worship and service to God. Thus, we should not be living the consumer-driven life that is the norm for today. Instead, we should be using our material wealth for spiritual gains – not for self-gratification, but for the benefit of others and for the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

Hypocrisy is the primary sin of really religious and good people, and it is perhaps the most dangerous sin of all! That is because it covers up the truth about what are inside by means of an elaborate deception on the outside. The motive of hypocrisy is the need to please - to please myself by creating a version of me I can feel good about, and to please others with a version of me they will be impressed with. The Gospel exposes us - that we are wicked people in desperate need of cleaning up, from the inside out. The great danger of Hypocrisy is that one lives so much in fear of what others think about them, that they never come to understand what is infinitely more important - what God thinks of them. They remain blind to their need for the work of Christ in redemption, and they resist the work of the Spirit that points to Christ. Thus, they will stand before God the judge and be exposed for what they truly are, and bear the terrible consequences for their rejection of the Gospel.