Do Not Fear

(Our Theme for June)

Luke 12: 32:

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

Years ago, I remember my wise pastor at that time suggested something I thought was quite profound.  He had a theory about the reason time seems to pass more quickly as we get older.  He said, “When we’re young, we are changing so much faster than the world around us, but when we’re old, the world around us is changing so much faster than we are.”

 

I am not certain that the children of today are changing faster than the world they are growing up in.  Perhaps that is one of the many reasons anxiety is on the rise in childhood and adolescence.  Change and uncertainty breeds fear and angst.  Most of us, even as adults, respond to rapid change in the world around us with anxiety.   When things are unfamiliar, we cannot process threats as effectively as when we have our bearings, and we respond by being constantly alert and on guard.  Anticipating scarcity, we hold on to things tightly.  We cling to what we need—or to what we think we need.

 

In this passage from Luke, Jesus makes a difference between the nations of the world and God’s kingdom.  He says the nations of the world strive after and worry over daily needs, but we should strive after God’s kingdom, and God—who knows our daily needs—will supply them. 

 

And then, in the very next sentence, Jesus calls us his “little flock,” and tells us not to be afraid, that it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  How comforting it is to be counted among Jesus’ “little flock.”

 

No matter how fast the world is changing, or how much angst and grief it is causing us, it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  God continues to give God’s kingdom to those who strive after it.  That is unchanging.

 

Today I witnessed God’s kingdom in a welcome Spring rain.  I felt it in the sunbeams that followed, heard it in the timeless songs of birds, experienced it in a warm embrace and conversation with a dear friend, saw it in the smile of a stranger and in a little girl skipping happily across her yard.  Out of God’s good pleasure, God gives me the kingdom each day if I will but look for and receive it.  And when I am striving after the kingdom, anxiety tends to fade away.

 

Lord Jesus, thank you for counting us among your little flock. In your good pleasure, show us all how to strive after your kingdom, that it may come, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.