Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.

To seek something implies that you are giving importance to that thing. We naturally seek things that will benefit us, things that will improve our lives. What we seek or seek first can give a clear indication of what we prioritize in life. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” Jesus wasn’t just saying nice words to make us feel better, He was setting forth a strong and sincere Kingdom principle that we as his followers are to put into practice. Jesus wasn’t laying down a hard law for his followers, he was showing us what he expects of his disciples. What we prioritize clearly defines who we are. Jesus said to seek the kingdom, and his righteousness, what did he mean by that? When we seek his kingdom we seek the things that advance God’s kingdom. We seek his kingdom first, it has to be first priority in order for us to eventually receive the other things, or these things that many of us seek first and wonder why God doesn’t bless us!

Jesus also said to seek the righteousness of God first. What did he mean by that? If we are justified by God grace, how could we seek to be justified, if it is the gift of God? I think what the Lord is saying is that if we rely on our positional justification we won’t be living out practical righteousness in order to demonstrate to others that we truly are living the gospel and that we truly follow the Master. When we seek the kingdom of Heaven this way, by living out our faith, and prioritizing the teachings and principles that Jesus taught, he promised that all the other things that we seek in life will eventually be provided for us.

Does that mean that if Christians do this they eventually get everything they ask for? I don’t think that is what the Lord means by all these things. He doesn’t say you’ll get everything, he says all “these things”. All “these things”are the things that the world seeks first, but Christians are to prioritize the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness first, the exact opposite of how everyone else is doing it. Jesus Christ is showing us that what really matters in life are eternal things, not temporal things. While we still have to live in the world, and use it’s resources, Jesus is commanding his followers to get their priorities right, because if we place more value on worldly things rather on heavenly things, we might actually fail in properly loving God and our neighbour, and thus not actually living up to the standard that every saint of God is supposed to demonstrate to the world. This is Mike.

Comments

Age of Brokenness.

We are living in an age of brokenness, no matter what age you are, you probably have been touched with relationships falling apart, which causes more and more people to live in isolation. In this generation there is less of an incentive to heal and reconcile relationships, but that doesn’t excuse the amount of people who are broken. Why people don’t seem to be motivated to heal relationships is because our beliefs about faith and God have changed, really giving us less of an incentive to do what our religion says. If I act from my personal beliefs, but the person that I am responding to has abandoned religious beliefs, than the response to my wanting things to be better can be misinterpreted and rejected then by someone else. Generally when a society has expectations about broken relationships, loneliness and isolation, and the beliefs are generally accepted, society becomes a more compassionate society, because all value the same things. When religious values are undermined and ...

The Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Matthew 25:1-13 I have discovered a remarkable interpretation of this parable that I would like to share with you. The story in the Bible goes like this: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy som...

The Existence of God

Since the beginning of time, man has learned about the existence of God. It began in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, however when they sinned, they died spiritually and their closeness with God was severed. In Genesis 4:26 it reads “Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.” Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, so it’s fair to say that not too long after mankind fell, we also called upon the Lord. From that time until now, mankind was closer to God then, but it’s a modern shift that the world is in the state it is in now, mainly unbelief, because even 30 years ago from now, mankind was closer to God. It is also true that in ancient Israel’s history, there have been generations that fell away and forgot God, but in the time of the prophets Israel was never left without a word from the Lord. Many generations have come and gone, but there have been remarkable generations all thr...

The Super Blogosphere of a parallel word.

Search This Blog