August 24, 2022
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
The simplicity of this command from Jesus is very often quoted and sung. It could serve as a header while our time in the rest of the Scriptures would fill in just how to do it. It is ironic that, while we love to say it and sing it, the great concerns of our thoughts tend to circle back to these things, namely food and drink, clothes and shelter, friends and social activities, and on the list goes.
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the [pagans] seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (vv.31-32)
If we were to truly live by the words of Jesus, our lives would be revolutionized! Putting and keeping our relationship with the Lord foremost is the central theme of the Christian life. It is a discipline that is challenged by nearly every aspect of life here in this world: traditions, experiences, culture, reason . . . We tend to “measure” how far we will go in obedience to the Lord by the familiar things with which we have become comfortable. But this is the very opposite of the instruction from the Lord! We are to measure everything we do—and even our thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5)—by the standard He has laid out for us in His word.
James reminds us: “…receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:21b-22)
When Jesus is truly first in my life, I will no longer worry over the things the world is obsessed with, nor will I be careless in the basic decisions of what to eat, drink, or wear. All of it is addressed in the Bible. We can observe our general direction in life—toward heaven or away from it—not merely by our outward responses to the clear instructions God gives, but by the joy that comes from allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into complete harmony with the teachings of Jesus.
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7