15.“Therefore do not be anxious saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ (for after all these things the Gentiles seek); for your Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be given you besides” (Mt 6:31-33).
Those children of the Heavenly Father who recognize His Kingdom, Authority, and Love enjoy a huge security of heart. Babies and young children rely totally on their parents for food, drink, and clothing. As they age they develop their own resources. They then have the choice to begin to think of themselves as their own authority and the procurer of these goods, or they can continue to recognize that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration” (James 1:17).
The difference then becomes whether we rely on ourselves or on Our Heavenly Father. If we rely on ourselves then (because we are so small and inadequate) we are filled with the anxiety and worry regarding food, drink, and clothing. On the other hand if we rely on Our Heavenly Father, we still have to work to procure these goods, but we recognize that even the work itself is His Gift; we were “created in good works, which God has made ready beforehand that we may walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). If we rely on Our Heavenly Father we do not have to live in anxiety because we know that He is our Loving, Provident Father Who “knows that we need all these things” (Mt 6:32).
People do not want to be identified by their job if their job is only seen by them as a way to provide for life’s necessities. For example a person might work in a store or a factory for this reason. But if the same person, doing the same job, instead saw their job (in all its mundane routine) as a means of glorifying their Heavenly Father and advancing His Kingdom, then this person would no longer mind being identified through their job. We want our lives to have a meaning beyond the mere sustenance of our physical lives. This meaning can only be found in Our Heavenly Father Who is our Origin and our End. We were created to reign joyfully as sons in the Son in His Kingdom forever.
