| Christian Life and Doctrine | February 1971 |
Consider the Lilies
JESUS said to his disciples, “Consider the lilies.” (Matt. 6:28) In many ways, through his Word, God calls our attention to the importance of thinking, of considering, of meditating. But it is important that we think along proper lines, and that our thoughts be guided by the inspired Word of God. The Bible itself gives us many clues to proper thought channels, which, if followed, will lead us nearer to the Lord and to victory in carrying out our covenant of consecration. One of these is the exhortation to consider, to think about, the lilies.
But what is it about the lilies that we are to consider? Doubtless many profitable lessons might be learned by “considering” the lilies and other flowers of the field. Their beauty reflects the wisdom and skill of God in design and his love in exercising them. Who can gaze upon these gorgeous created things without standing astonished with wonder at the abilities of the Creator? This should inspire in the Christian’s heart an increased desire and determination to be like God and to please him more and more as the days go by. But while this and other helpful lessons may be derived from considering the lilies, it is highly important that we note the particular point which the Master had in mind when, in his Sermon on the Mount he urged, “Consider the lilies.”
In more detail Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.” They grow so gloriously that “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matt. 6:28,29) Failing to note the point of this lesson, some have concluded that the Master is here teaching that Christian activity and service are not necessary to Christian growth. This misconception of the passage, like many other misconceptions of biblical truth, is based upon the observation of only a part of what the Master said. This is a wrong and very misleading method of studying the Bible. It is entirely possible for a Christian to formulate ideas and then cleverly select certain phrases and partial texts of Scripture that seem to fit in with and substantiate these ideas. Satan is on the alert to misdirect us along this line, and because “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” it is very easy for any of us to deceive ourselves.—Jer. 17:9
Most times, deception is made possible because of a more or less latent desire to take our sacrifice off the altar. The thought that Christian growth is possible apart from Christian sacrifice and activity is appealing to the flesh, and Satan is quick to supply the seeming scriptural proof to support such a position: “Consider the lilies … how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.” How consoling to the flesh is the wrong application of these words by the Master!
The real thought of the text is just the opposite to this one, which evidently originated in the nominal church. The lesson begins in the 19th verse of the chapter, where the Master says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust cloth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Then, in following up this admonition, Jesus relates the importance of the “single eye,” which, as he explains, means that our interests and affections must not be divided: for “we cannot serve God and mammon.”
Jesus then explains that we should take no thought for the morrow, but rather, in carrying out the terms of our covenant of consecration, should sacrifice all in seeking “first the kingdom of God,” in full assurance of the fact that just as God cares for the sparrow, and just as he causes the lily to grow without the lily’s help, so he will take care of our earthly needs without our giving them anxious concern. Yes, the Master wants his followers to be wholeheartedly devoted to the business of sacrificing earthly interests. He wants them to realize that they cannot serve God and mammon.
A little later, as shown in the 10th chapter of Matthew, we find the Master making the practical application of the spirit of full devotion to him. In this chapter we are told of his sending his disciples into the ministry—to labor, to toil, to work for him. He instructs them not to give consideration to their temporal needs by taking extra supplies of clothing, money, and other things. The evident purpose of these instructions was to bring home to the disciples the vital fact that, having enlisted in the Lord’s service, there must not be any halfway attitude about it. Everything of an earthly character must be made subservient to the one business of serving the Lord. In this devoting of everything to the one end of service in the interests of the divine kingdom they were to consider that, so far as their temporal needs were concerned, God would provide them, even as he provided for the growth of the lilies.
Thus seen, if we consider the real lesson of the lilies, as Jesus intended us to observe it, we will realize that it is calculated to enhance in our minds the importance and necessity of seeking first, by every means at our disposal, the interests of the kingdom—that our first duty as Christians is to use time, strength, means, everything, as a living sacrifice in showing forth the praises of our God.
After Pentecost, the Lord revealed that those coining into the truth and consecrating themselves to the Lord were to realize the necessity of caring for those dependent upon them, and of providing things decent in the sight of all men. But even in the doing of this, it should be with the thought that efforts thus spent represent but a necessary side issue in our lives, and that our main business is to sacrifice the flesh and its interests in laying down our lives for the brethren, and in doing good unto all men as we have opportunity by telling them of the glad new day of blessing which is near. Thus, the consideration of the lilies will help to strengthen our faith in the ability of God to care for our temporal interests, while we with single eye press forward in the service of the Master.