2.03.2014

Kingdom Come

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.          Matthew 6:33

Lately, I've found that my life has been about the "things" -- as a human being, I have a natural tendency to contract attention deficit disorder, letting my fleshly eyes dart around with worldly distractions. Jesus knows how we humans become so consumed by our mortal lifestyles, from the food we eat to the clothes we put on. Why do you think He would make an entire sermon out of our craving for these things?

Hey, I'm guilty. I'm a nervous wreck about what foods I can and can't eat. I covet what other people wear. And I have the nerve to let all of this stuff stress me out and make me anxious. 

I think I get what Jesus was really trying to say in this verse. He knows how easy it is for us humans (He did create us after all) to become absorbed by the earth we were created from. He understands how our little minds barely have the capacity to focus on our daily needs, much less the greater good. But there is more. We don't have to be anxious. What good does that do us? And how can we be anxious when we realize what -- or whom -- the kingdom of God really is?

He says today, there is something so much better out there. There is so much more to this life. There is a kingdom, reigned by an Almighty King, such as the world has never seen before. We envision failures of men when we try to think of rulers. But this King is perfect in passion and great in grace. 

Through all the worry, I have seen the kingdom of God grow dimmer and dimmer in the distance. So He told me, Seek My kingdom first, and My righteousness which prevails upon all men (my own is like filthy rags), and the rest will be added unto you. 

What does He mean by that? He means to say that if we allow ourselves to be entirely consumed by His kingdom (and when we truly know Him, we will see the true worth of that kingdom) and His righteousness (and the great sacrifice in which He gave us that perfection and beauty), everything else will merely be added. All that we think our lives revolve around will be but an addition, a bonus to our existence. 

When we offer our lives to be consumed by the living God and His kingdom, the things of this world could not possibly make us anxious. We will have all we need in Him. His kingdom is all beauty and providence. He calls all to His gates.   

It's refreshing to hear these words that Jesus spoke, yet how many times do we continue in our fleshly pattern of worry and distraction? I'm guilty again. So I'm encouraging you (or maybe simply reminding you) to make His kingdom priority. Trust the King more and be rid of that fear. Relinquish control of your own life, let the King have control, and quench that anxiety. Get over your own life and wrap yourself in His. Stop seeing His kingdom as merely the means to all the "things" and see it as the beginning and end of all things. I am guilty of all of these, but I want to turn around and run toward His kingdom gates.

When we let ourselves become lost in the glory of His kingdom and the beauty of His righteousness, I think we'll actually begin to live the way we were meant to. Everything else will be simply added.

1 comment:

  1. Love the imagery you shared about turning around from your path and running toward The Kingdom... The urgency depicted in there is a good picture of what we should feel in our hearts when we've lost sight of the will of our perfect King.

    A very truthful and humble post, Noelle :) I have struggled so many times to just accept God's sovereign will and reject my own. It's funny how we make an idol of ourselves only to come crashing down face first like the Philistines god, Dagon (which is a hilarious read in 1 Sam 5.... God does have a sense of humor haha). On the contrary, whenever we do what is right and put HIS will before our own, it all works out for the best (even if we don't see it immediately).

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