I (Bill) grew up assuming that seriousness is deeply connected to Spiritual maturity. The slow ballad worship song was more meaningful that singing Happy Day, that bowing my head in quiet, somber prayer, must be more meaningful than celebrating what God is up to. And yet…..One of the things scripture names that should be core to our identity is joy. That of all people those who love and follow God have more to celebrate, more to praise about, more to be joyful about than any other people.

What you pay attention to, tends to drive you. In Matthew 6 Jesus invites us to worry less about the material world, and focus far more on the Kingdom of God. Not a theoretical reality, but a way of living that contrasts with much of the world we live in. Jesus reminds us that if our focus is on God’s Kingdom, His calling for us, His instructions for life, not the world’s, worry might take a backseat quickly.

We live in an angry world. Many news outlets share a little bit of news and a lot of commentary about the bad guys, the people who you should be afraid of, or mad at. Much of our digital and now public dialogue takes on an aggressive, forceful tone. We are told to take a stand, to make our views known, to defend whatever it is we are to defend. Yet Jesus invites us to love our enemies. To love and forgive those who are different than us, and even challenges us that if we are not able to do that, we are no better than our enemies.