In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus presents his broad vision and direction for our lives. It contains some of the most quoted wisdom from the Gospels, including the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes. He also addresses anxiety in Matthew 6: 25-34. We live in the anxious times, but as seen in the Bible anxiety is not new. Jesus speaks of anxiety regarding having enough to eat and clothes. For those with all their basic physical needs met, there is anxiety regarding having the RIGHT diet, the LATEST fashion in clothes. People these days may be anxious about how many “likes” they get on social media. As a college professor, I have seen an increase in anxiety diagnoses in my students. Sometimes anxiety is a medical condition that needs to be treated by therapy and possibly medication. Often, it is from the uncertainty that many have in their daily lives. This uncertainty is exacerbated by a society with a decreased belief in a personal God and the practice of religion.
For this blog, I present to you two videos from the John 10:10 project. The first video lays out using wonderful music and cinematography some of the words of Jesus on anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount, using the beauty and life of birds and plants who exist without such anxiety. Verse 34 states, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NASB)
To counter the argument of “Well, if I were a bird, I would not have any demands and stressors” I include a second video about the Artic Tern, a bird that travels each year between the North Pole and Antarctica. In their lifespan of about 30 years, they travel about one and half million miles, 55,000 miles a year. This from a bird that weighs between 3 and 4 ounces and are up to 15 inches long. With their small size as eggs and as full-grown birds, they are prey for foxes on the ground and larger birds such as gulls, owls, and raptors. Yet birds trust that their journey will be successful, even though all will not survive their travels. Do they ever encounter obstacles such as storms? It is one thing to worry about having enough to eat, but another that YOU will be eaten!! Yet, by the divine power of God they live their challenging lives. It could be said that they live their lives with more faith than most humans. Make sure to watch both. View the first one and then come back to his blog to view the second one. Or copy both somewhere where you can view them consecutively.
God is present in the animals and plants of land and the sea. God is present in our lives. God is everywhere.
