Consider the Lilies

 

Jesus said “Consider the Lilies…” and I wrote an article on this subject recently but feel it needs “follow- up”: in my dictionary “consider” means to contemplate; deliberate

thoughtfully, so I have been “considering” this lily in that way and am most impressed with the delicate colouring, the material the petals are made of and how those little dark pads in the centre are hinged so the slightest touch by an insect will cause them to swivel and deposit pollen on the creature that touched them, and that is certainly marvellous.

But Jesus was looking past those pads when in Matthew 6: 28 He said “Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you. That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field which, today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you. O ye of little faith?” ………… but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you”. So he was reassuring us that we can trust God. I suggest therefore, that we read that whole passage again and also “consider” who it was that made that statement! And what the implications are for you and me personally, if you take him seriously.

 Mind you, it probably wasn’t only lilies that he was thinking of when he described them as “grass of the field”. It is more than likely that he used lilies as the illustration

because they were very common in that part of the world. When we look at the thousands of different and remarkable designs of flowers we cannot but be impressed by the mind of our God who could conceive such beauty and variety. It is no wonder therefore that Jesus was keen to point out that the God who would take such an interest in things that would only last a few days, would certainly be much more willing to spend time helping humans who are his greatest creation and whose lives are eternal. No doubt God had great joy in designing the plants and animals and He put us in charge of them all, giving us remarkable bodies and brains to use. However, at that point he handed the responsibility over to us by giving us a free will and not making us “robots.” Most loving parents would understand that thinking, because they look after their babies and feed and clothe them, educate them, and endeavour to direct them in the way that they think is in the child’s best interest, however, that is about as far as they can go and from then on they just make themselves available for advice and assistance and try to not interfere with the child’s own free will as they get older so that they can live life the way they choose. This can be wonderful or devastating.

Wonderful for the parents if the child chooses well, but devastating if they choose poorly like the young man in the photo. There is nothing his parents can do for him

now unless he decides that he wants to “quit” drugs. If he makes that decision, then his parents and others can help him find the answers, and all of life’s possibilities become within his reach once again. Some people may say “That isn’t my problem thank goodness”, but they’re wrong: according to the bible that is how God sees the soul of every one of us until we repent and accept Jesus redemptive forgiveness which releases our soul from the consequences of sin. “How is that?” you may ask. Well the bible says: “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”, “there is none righteous, no not one” “the soul that sinneth it shall die” “the wages of sin is death.”  So you can imagine how devastating it is for our loving God when he sees us ignore his directions that were designed to guide us and set us up for Eternal Life.

The decision to “quit” sin is in our hands; as “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but inherit Everlasting Life.” “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Now this is where our “Free Will” takes over; we may look in the mirror and see a business person, a teacher, a nurse, a pensioner or whatever and be quite contented with our life, but unless we have “freed” our Soul from that situation “depicted” in the photo above by accepting God’s offer of forgiveness, then there is absolutely no hope for us in Eternity so we must make sure we have sought that forgiveness (it is free), and thus avail ourselves of all the blessings in this life and the one to come.      Best wishes, Tom.