Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Background & Application
So much of our obedience is tied directly to how much we believe and trust God. In this passage in Matthew, Jesus uses several ways to try to get us to take our eyes off of what they ordinarily want to look at, and instead have them gaze upon things that are important to Him. But the question is whether we believe that they are really that important or not. Do we believe that our heart is where our treasure is, and that when we focus on earthly treasures that we are looking God in the eye and telling Him we prefer an earthly kingdom rather than His kingdom? Do we believe that we can’t serve two masters, or do we bundle God in a package deal, along with comfort, security and greed for our fair share? Do we believe that life is more than food and clothing, or work and free time, or are we comfortable in our current arrangement of time and money management? Do we believe our heavenly Father when He says that He knows the things we need, or do we read that and keep living like we need to help Him provide for us? There’s no doubt we understand what doing something first means. Our society is built on reward and recognition for being first. In kindergarten or before, we strove to be first in line or have our hand up first. And when we did that, we got all the other things that came with it, things that mattered to a kindergartner. As children of God, let’s seek first His kingdom, because it matters to Him.
Charge
In our prayers today, let’s ask God to give us tunnel vision, focused solely on His kingdom. Ask Him for grace to seek Him first above all else, and believe that He will give it to you.
