No Tomorrow
Lauren Oliver is the author of Before I Fall. The New York Times bestseller tells the story of Samantha Kingston, a senior high student at Thomas Jefferson High. In a way, Samantha, or Sam, has based her life of a line from the broadway film “Annie”:
The sun will come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow
There’ll be sun…
Just thinkin’ about tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow
’til there’s none…
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow
You’re always a day away!
For Sam, this was was a soothing idea. There was always tomorrow. No matter what happened today, there would always be a tomorrow.
But ultimately the idea contained in the song became an all too common downfall. It robbed Sam of her ability to live in the present. Sam sped through her life, failing to truly appreciate her family, her friends, and failing to take advantage of the opportunities to make a difference in the here and the now because there was always tomorrow.
Until the night she died.
Then there was no more tomorrow.
Only, not in the way you might think. Because after Sam died, she was forced to live the day of her death again. And again. And again. She was forced to come to terms with what life might be like if all there was only today.
Can you imagine what life might be like if you only had today? What if there was no tomorrow? How would that affect the way you live today?
Jesus addresses a related issue in Matthew 6. At first we may think Jesus is only interested in dealing with our anxiety and worry. After all, Jesus uses that word “worry” seven times in this text. Four times he says “do not worry.” Here is the full text:
25 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small! 31 “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries. (Matt. 6:25-34 ERV)
It’s clear by verse 34 that Jesus’ ultimate concern is our focus on tomorrow. When he says in this verse “do not be anxious about tomorrow,” or “don’t worry about tomorrow,” he’s indicating that this is what he’s been thinking about the entire text. He’s ultimately addressing the way in which anxiety and worry mix with our tendency to focus so much on tomorrow that we end up missing the opportunity to live today.
Four Reasons Not to Worry
A quick overview of Jesus’ teaching in this text shows Jesus emphasizing four things. Let’s walk through these four things and then camp out on the fourth.
First, Jesus urges us not to worry because we have a God who, as Creator cares for his creation, and therefore as Father, will care for his family. Jesus loves to teach by drawing our attention to creation. Here, he draws our attention to flowers and to birds. God, as Creator, gives food for birds and gives clothes for flowers–Jesus may have been referring to beautiful purple anemones. How much more will God, as Father, provide whatever is most needed by his family–his sons and daughters–us? Clearly, this isn’t a promise of an easy life or a promise of every prayer answered. Jesus himself will be crucified. His disciples will suffer. But it is a guarantee that we go through life as beloved sons and daughters of a heavenly Father. We shouldn’t be consumed with anxiety or worry because we have a Father who cares for his family.
Second, Jesus urges us not to worry because worry is unproductive. You cannot lengthen your life a single bit, Jesus says, through worry. That’s his way of simply saying that worry never accomplished anything. Anxiety will not resolve any part of the problem you’re worried about. So, why spend the emotional time in it? Worry is unproductive.
Third, Jesus urges us not to worry because that’s what pagans do. Earlier in his Sermon on the Mount he urged us not to pray like pagans. Now he urges us not to worry like pagans. When Jesus says “The Gentiles seek after these things” or “That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about” he means that “the pagans” spend their time worrying and being anxious. But we are meant to be distinct, different, unique. Our focus is on God’s kingdom. We are not meant to be people who worry.
And fourth, Jesus pushes against worry because of how it’s tied into our tendency to always be living for tomorrow and missing out on today. Let’s flesh out this idea.
Living in the Present
New Testament scholar Craig Keener proposes an intriguing background for Jesus’ statement in verse 34. Listen once more to Jesus’ words:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matt. 6:34 ESV)
So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries. (Matt. 6:34 ERV)
Keener says that we find some inspiration for understanding these words from the Essenes. The Essenes were a group of Jews who retreated from Jerusalem into the desert and created an extremely devout community. They are most known for creating what came to be called the Dead Sea Scrolls. They also wrote a document known as the Covenant of Damascus. This document recorded their “rule of life”–the way they patterned their lives in order to draw close to God.
In one section of that document, they wrote about how they observed the Sabbath:
Now concerning the proper observance of the Sabbath. No one is to do any work on Friday from the moment that the sun’s disk stands distant from the gate by the length of its own diameter; for this is what Scripture implies when it says explicitly, Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. On the Sabbath day, no one is to indulge in ribald or empty talk. No one is to claim repayment of debts. No one is to engage in lawsuits concerning property and gain. No one is to talk about labor or work to be done the next day. No one is to go out into the field while it is still Sabbath with the intention of resuming his work immediately the Sabbath ends. [Covenant of Damascus]
One of the primary points of this part of the document was that in the Essene community, you didn’t spend the Sabbath doing anything that robbed today of the opportunity to rest and focus on God. Thus, you didn’t watch the clock and walk out into your field when it was still Sabbath and do a kind of countdown so that you could start working the instant the Sabbath was over. And, most importantly for our consideration, you didn’t even talk on the Sabbath about work that needed to be done tomorrow. You didn’t spend your Sabbath–today–talking about things that needed to be done tomorrow. Because that was a way of robbing today of the opportunity for true Sabbath rest.
New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that Jesus plays off of this idea in Matt. 6:34. When Jesus says that we should not spend today worrying about tomorrow, and that tomorrow can worry about itself, Jesus is saying that spending today worry about tomorrow is just like spending today talking about all the work you have to do tomorrow. For the Essenes, it robbed you of the Sabbath God wanted you to have today. And for Jesus our spending today worrying about tomorrow robs us of certain things today.
What are those things? In the context of this text I think they are these two things: 1) the beauty of God’s provision and 2) the adventure of engaging in kingdom purposes, seeking first God’s kingdom. That’s what today is to be filled with–enjoying and celebrating and taking in the compassionate and abundant provision of this loving Father who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers and does so much for us–his family, and engaging in the fulfilling and life-changing and world-changing purpose of helping illuminate the world. That’s what today is to be about. And when we spend it worrying about tomorrow, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to truly live today to its fullest. Jesus wants us to live in the present so that we may enjoy our Father’s provision and engage in our Father’s kingdom purpose. We are so apt to focus so much on tomorrow, that we miss the great joy of the wonderful provision God has for us today and the adventure of living out God’s kingdom purpose today.
A A Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh stories, writes this exchange between Winnie the Pooh and his friend Piglet. It starts with Pooh asking a question:
“What day is it?” Pooh asked Piglet.
It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
Living in the moment, embracing today, was something that simple-hearted, pure-hearted Pooh-bear was able to do. And it’s something Jesus is calling us to do. Every day becomes our favorite day with Jesus. Because every day is filled with abundant gracious provisions from her father and wonderful opportunities to engage in her father’s purposes if we will just look. Jesus doesn’t want us spending today focused so much on tomorrow that we are unable to live today
And, to return to the novel with which I began this sermon, Sam Kingston, the girl forced to live the day of her death over and over, learns to appreciate the small and ordinary things about her life:
“…in that moment I realize how much I love the little everyday routines of my life: the fact that [mom] always asks [if I want breakfast], the fact that I always say no because there’s a sesame bagel waiting for me in Lindsay’s car, the fact that we always listen to “No More Drama” as we pull into the parking lot. The fact that my mom always cooks spaghetti and meatballs on Sunday, and the fact that once a month my dad takes over the kitchen and makes his “special stew,” which is just hot-dog pieces and baked beans with lots of extra ketchup and molasses, and I would never admit to liking it, but it’s actually one of my favorite meals. The details that are my life’s special pattern, like how in handwoven rugs what really makes them unique are the tiny flaws in the stitching, little gaps and jumps and stutters that can never be reproduced. So many things become beautiful when you really look.”
And what Jesus is trying to prevent is the way that so many of us rob ourselves of the ability to experience the beauty of today by spending it worrying about tomorrow. Jesus wants us to be freed from this. He wants us to see how beautiful Today is. He wants us to see all the abundant provisions of our father and the opportunities to engage in her father’s purposes.
One group of people who help us do this is artists. Artists–whether they are painters, musicians, poets, or engage in other forms or artistry–help us slow down, pay attention, and take in the beauty of today. Highland is filled with these kinds of people. We recently talked with one. His name is Kevin Woods. He is our graphic designer. Here’s how that conversation went:
VIDEO
One of the things I love about Kevin’s work is how he helps us to slow down and see that a particular event is filled with beauty and opportunity. There’s so much beauty if we just look.
In fact, Kevin was recently recognized by his peers for his work. He won an important award for his work on the Villages logo.
Kevin’s one of many artists. Like painters. One of the most famous paintings in the world was created in the 1800’s by Georges Seurat and was called “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” Using thousands of individual dots he captured an ordinary moment in the life of men and women from Paris enjoying a Sunday afternoon on a small island.
Photographer Ansel Adams is one of many who helped capture the present in his images. He helped us stop and pay attention to the present, to more fully take in all that God has for us today.
Poets help us do this. One of the most famous poems is simply called “Daffodils.” Written by William Wordsworth, it captures his chance encounter with a field of daffodils and how it filled him with joy and how it continues to bring happiness to his life:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed and gazed but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
There is so much beauty if we just look.
Jesus is playing the role of an artist in this text. He’s trying to get us to stop and see the beauty in today. Today, there’s a Father pouring provisions just for us. Today, there’s a Father who has kingdom purposes for us to fulfill. There’s so much beauty if we just look. Jesus’ invitation is for us to be fully present to today. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Live today.
