Seek ye first the Kingdom of God-Matthew 6.33
Why does God ask us to seek first the kingdom? What does it mean to seek? What is the kingdom to be about? God asks us to seek first the kingdom because it is what matters most. In the verses prior to this one, Jesus asks His disciples to consider that heavenly wealth outweighs earthly ones.
Money in the bank now has a place, but what will far outweigh that are the things we do as disciples of the king. Things like the little details, those acts of service toward others that go often unnoticed or unappreciated. Like the people we pray for day in and day out, sometimes unbeknownst to them. Like the little acts of kindness done not because others deserve them but because they are worthy of our king.
We live and act for the benefit of others but not because of others. We live everyday seeking the will of the Lord in all the circumstances we encounter. We know He leads us, if we ask Him. Sometimes when we do not ask Him. And that is God’s faithfulness to us. He leads us where we need to go, for our own sake and growth, and for the sake of others.
Which is why we must seek Him. It is a choice we make. We seek Him when we listen for the still, small voice of the Lord. We must be attuned to the providential circumstances He is arranging. We have to allow Him to order our thinking with Godly reason. We have to have His Word in our heart, soul, spirit and mind. We must hear the voice of the Lord in a multitude of counselors. We must encounter Him at the table of the Lord. God calls us and we must answer. He persists but does not override us.
God invites us to join Him in establishing His kingdom. His Kingdom is meant to come on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6.10). As lives are surrendered to the way of Christ, the kingdom is established. It is God’s work, but we are called to be a part of God’s work of saving the lost, setting free the bound up, healing the brokenhearted, and building up the people of God. And as we do that, we experience God ourselves and have His life. Or we are the recipients of His life imparted to us through others whose lives have been surrendered to Him. God is good and so are His ways, even when it may not feel like they are. May we then seek Him always, for our sake and that of others.
