Seek First

Matthew 6:30-33 “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

We all need the necessities of life [food, water, clothing, shelter]. Each of us have life dreams, ambitions, desires, goals and objectives. Children play, learn and grow as they transition into working adults contributing within communities, then transition into our knowledgeable elderly sector of society. The seasons of life are natural steps and phases that pass from generation to generation. Work and family was designed by God. In both Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 9:7 God said, “Be fruitful and multiple. To provide for yourself and your family, your church and charitable contributions to those less fortunate are honorable attributes in society. But, everything is to be taken righteously in the context of the kingdom of Heaven and Heaven’s King. 

 

Israel’s King Solomon was the richest and wisest man in the world in his day but reflecting back on his life, he stated in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Why is this life, from a human perspective meaningless? Solomon reasons in Ecclesiastes 2:14 that “The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Solomon concludes in Ecclesiastes 2:16b, “Like the fool, the wise too must die!” You cannot take it with you when you go; not anything from this life goes with you when you die. The question isn’t how much we can acquire and do before we can. When asked: “How much money is enough money?” The richest man in America at the time, John D. Rockefeller’s answer was “just a little bit more.” He is dead now and money, power, position, prestige, pleasure and pampering mean nothing to him. Jesus said that in this life, “For the pagans run after all these things. Money cannot buy you Heaven.

 

The word “pagan” in Matthew 6:32 means the human race not worshipping the true God - pagans, heathens, unregenerate sinners at enmity with God. The real question is: “If you were to die today, would you know for certain that you would be going to Heaven?” It’s a question, not of your temporal existence on Earth, but your eternal existence after this life. There is no distinction, this is true for everyone, no matter who we are because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the human family was destined to spend eternity in Hell because of sin - Revelation 20:11-15. The wise, the fool, the rich, the poor, the nobility and the commoner all die one day and stand in front of the Great White Throne in Heaven to be judged by the Lord. John 3:18 tells us that all of mankind stands condemned of their sin and Ephesians 2:1 explains that we all are, not sick, but dead in our transgressions and sins against God. 

 

But, Romans 6:23 proclaims, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” John 3:16-17 declares, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus Christ is God’s Plan of Salvation to those who repent of their sin, believe, receive and cleave to the Savior of the World with saving faith. Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” The eternal perspective of the born-again Christian Believer is why you seek first His kingdom. When you settle the ultimate question of eternity under the authority of the Lord of Heaven, then priorities and goals in this life are in the “right” perspective. Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

 

In Christ, Brian