Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (NLT)
One of my favorite hymns is “Seek Ye First,” which is a song that is centered around the theme of Matthew 6:33 to seek the kingdom of God above all things.
What does Jesus mean by this? Jesus means that the kingdom of God is our first obedience. We are called to be people of God who seek after the things of God before any and all things. The motivations of God should be the motivations for ourselves, our families, and our ministries.
This plays out in some very challenging ways that cuts against what we would like and what God desires for us.
For instance, we are called to seek the kingdom of God before our own needs and agenda. The desires of God comes before our own personal desires for ourselves, our families, and our churches.
We are to seek the kingdom of God before any and all political reality. We are called to be citizens of God’s kingdom and not strict disciples of our favorite political party or ideology.
We are called to seek God’s kingdom in our efforts for justice and peace, instead of seeking justice and peace that so often reflects the war-minded focus of our civilization and culture.
We are called to seek God’s kingdom in offering forgiveness in the ways that Christ offers forgiveness to us.
Seeking God’s kingdom is about seeking Christ in all things and before all things.
Life is not about us. It is truly about seeking God, serving God, loving God, and loving others. How are you living into this today?
Shannon Blosser 