Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shaft put on. Matt. 6:25.

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a familiar hymn that suggests clearly the pressure and tension under which most of us live, and our longing for serenity of soul:

When Christ came to the earth, men expected national deliverance from Roman bondage. When He performed the miracle of feeding the five thousand from five loaves and two fishes, then hoped they never again would go hungry. But He offered them the Bread of Life, and they felt cheated. He offered them inner rest amidst national conflict and Roman occupation, and they were offended. The Jews felt like men who had asked for money and had been given a tract.

God has placed us in the world, not so much to achieve something, but to be something. Being something always takes more time than doing something. What really matters is to be at peace with God, poised, gracious, kind, and full of compassion.

Jesus Christ wore the garb of our common humanity. But he wore it with a difference. People could touch the hem of His garment and receive healing virtue from Him. So long as we respond with anxiety and tension to life's pressures, taunts, and failures, we are like all those who make no profession of following Christ. We need the serenity of soul that will thrill the hearts of those who come within our influence.

Actually, any admiration and enthusiasm for our church on the part of nonchurch members is almost always for individuals in our church. Such admiration is created by individuals in whom abides a divine Presence. The invisible God becomes luminous in us. Angry reaction never advances anything, including ourselves. In Christ we are made serene and confident.