Exposition

The pursuit of things never brings satisfaction because of one simple truth: We don’t need things to have life; we need life to have things. Many people “need” a nice car in order to feel important. They must wear brand-name clothes to enhance their self-image. They must always buy the newest and latest things if they are to feel fulfilled in life. Self-worth and value are never found in things. Our value and self-worth derive from who we are, not from what we have. We are of priceless worth to God regardless of any possessions we own.

Jesus used the example of the birds and how God feeds them even though they do not “sow or reap or store away in barns”. He gives them the tree and the nest and the food simply because they are birds and need these things. The birds do not worry about it. They do not work or sweat or chase after these things. They simply receive from the God who created them and who supplies everything they need to fulfil their purpose as birds. Then Jesus asks, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” In other words, if God supplies the birds’ needs because they are birds, won’t He also supply our needs because of who we are: human beings created in His image and much more valuable

than birds?

You must pursue the Kingdom of God. When you are in the right position, God will provide everything He thinks needful and appropriate for that position. So the issue is not things, but living for the Kingdom. God’s intent was fulfilment without frustration. Remember, as Lord of the universe, God owns everything. Nothing you have truly belongs to you and is not for you alone. When you seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, He gives you all these other things so that you may be fulfilled. God wants you to have them but He also wants to show you how to acquire them in the right way and with the proper spirit. He wants you to have plenty of things but He does not want us to pursue them at the expense of your relationship with Him.