A Reverse-Reading, from Luke 12

At Anchor this week, rather than going back through, and teaching back through, many of the same words/phrases as occur in Matthew 6's similar "Do not be anxious" teaching, I wanted our group to hear Jesus’ argument a little more "philosophically." You see, if you trace His words in this section from the end to the beginning, you start to realize how He’s built His logic on a heavenly-spiritual logic. Every thought follows so beautifully, so invitingly, one to another. 

Back to front, consider what He says:

- Your heart will be where your treasure is stored, thus
- Store your treasure where moth and thief can’t tamper with it, meaning
- In Heaven, where time is endless and values utterly changeless--in fact,
- Learn to live like money hardly matters at all… because
- Do you realize? You and I have already been given the entirety of a Kingdom! meaning
- Fear nothing. Fear no one. Because
- We will be given what we need in this Kingdom, because
- Our Father always knows exactly what we need… and
- He’d hate to see His sons and daughter frittering away their lives like the people who don’t know His heart… so
- We must do business with our anxiety—stare it right in the face… so that
- We set out hearts not on mere food and drink… because
- If He has been faithful up-till-now, can’t we trust, today and forever, that His faithfulness will continue? For remember:
- What He has done, He can do again… and
- He is mindful down to the most minute detail… and
- If we’re honest, do we actually believe—do we actually want to believe?—that we can somehow “make our own way” through these lives of ours? Or better:
- Wouldn’t it be lovely to think our Heavenly Father loves us, and knows us better, than making life a mere fending-for-ourselves? Instead,
- What if it is Him who has always fed us, and
- Planned for our futures, and 
- Given us the minds and bodies and skills to participate in His heavenly-earthly plans? What if
- Our lives are meant to mean more than their mere sustenance? Yes!
- What if our body is more than clothing, our life more important than its feeding--for this reason:
- That, we are being fed and clothed, we are invited not to be bothered… by
- The One who tells us to worry about nothing. Why?

- Because… He is… HE IS!… and He is with us… not just “back then”… but now… and forevermore. 

- Because He personally knows the pushes and pulls of money, work, time, stress, fear--and yet still, boldly, says to us:

- “Do not worry about life.” 
- “You must not live in a state of anxiety.”
- “Your Heavenly Father knows you need these things.”
- “Don’t be afraid, you tiny flock!” Why?
- Because “Your Father plans to give you…

…the KINGDOM!”