Throughout this chapter Jesus has been calling us to a higher view of life. Your life will not end with death, your life consists of more than the abundance of your possessions, and now your life is more than food, and your body more than clothes.

You have more, you are built for more. God created you for glory, not for silly trinkets of dust. You will soon behold God face to face, and you will receive his approval – live for that day, not the silly approval of those who will never understand.

Jesus is not the drill sergeant on the Geico commercially – quit being a “namby pamby” he gives us reasons why.

A. Remember your Value

24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

Jesus calls us out of our insanity. In our fake world we believe our well being depends on a job interview, or on a test score. Jesus wakes us up and says listen to the birds. God feeds them doesn’t he?

Then he throws in the clincher – you are of much more value than they!!

I once had a student enter my house at 10:30, hands red from the wringing, eyes wide scared to death because he didn’t know where he wanted to go to seminary in 3years. I simply looked and said that he was wise to worry, because God clearly did not love him enough to look after this decision.

God has given his son for you. He took his Son, his infinitely valuable possession and gave him up to bring you into his fellowship. He loves you that much. He has loved you from the beginning of the world, and has ordered every event of history to make sure he would get to you, now he has brought you into his family. What is it exactly that you think he would deprive you of now?

Some of you are going to fail in the workplace. You will never pass the MCAT, or you will never make partner, in some capacity you will fail to be what you grew up dreaming you would be. And you will have to choose the dominant fact of your life. Will you be dominated by the fact that you failed, or by the fact that you are God’s beloved son in whom he is well pleased.

Some of you will fail at love. Prince charming will reject you. And you will have to decide who you are. Are you the girl who wasn’t good enough to keep the man of her dreams. Or are you God’s beloved daughter, the one God himself picked?

You are of much more value than they.

B. Worry is Futile

25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Once I was trying to fly from Houston to Jackson MS – but my first flight was delayed. Sitting on the plane I kept getting more and more worried, and looking at my watch. A sweet lady next to me said, “I know you are very anxious, but looking at your watch won’t get you there any quicker.” I missed my flight, and so I took the next flight, which was direct and got me to my destination two hours sooner.

We worry for two reasons.

1. We wish we were God, and realize we are not. We are absolutely sure that we are all-knowing, and know how every little thing should work out, but we can’t make it happen that way.

2. We believe money or appearances will make us God – but they fail too. We are like OZ behind the curtain, but we are too short to reach the levers.

The real God knows you, he can take care of you, and he intends to take care of you, let that be enough.

C. We want Glory, and don’t feel it.

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

You are built for Glory. A boy stands taller the first time he dresses up to go on a date, or puts on a tuxedo for a formal dance. A girl becomes princess when she has her hair done up and puts on a ball gown, or better a wedding gown.

Yet the glory we want is always just beyond us. We feel big the first time we drive in our new car. But the car gets scratched, the clothes wear out, our true colors begin to show. When reality interferes with our glory, we worry.

Jesus beckons us to remember our God, and let him dress us in glory.

The French have a saying: Love is the greatest beautician.

Do you know what is beautiful? A girl who knows she is loved. A man who walks with the confidence of being everything to someone.

Sing Jesus Lover of my Soul until you believe that you are everything to someone, God has given his son for you, let that fact transform you from the worried and scared little girl, to the beautiful princess.