NOTES for Mat 6:24-34

Speaking of the Heavenly Father’s care for His creation, Jesus calls His disciples to look at the world around them. The birds, which do not need to worry about stores of food; the plants, adorned more richly than kings; human growth—all this bears witness to divine providence. By discovering the beauty of the universe and comprehending its laws, a person fulfills the Creator’s command. For when the Lord created Adam, He gave him dominion over every living thing and entrusted the world to him; it is therefore so important for human beings to learn precisely how this world is made. The astonishing beauty and harmony embedded in nature can become a true source of knowledge of God. And this knowledge concerns us human beings directly: it is the knowledge that “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

How often we neglect this observation of the world, which gives us so many opportunities to give thanks and to come to know Him. Instead, we prefer to learn all kinds of theological truths rather than simply look around and see a lily or a bird, or merely become aware of how astonishingly precise the workings of our own body are. And is this not one of the ways of seeking the Kingdom of God?