Whose Kingdom Are You Seeking?

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

Imagine you are lost in the forest. You had a little bit of water and a few energy bars, but they’re long gone. The days turn into nights and now you’re without energy, hanging on to life by a thread. Suddenly, you hear someone coming, but your lips are parched, and your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard. You’re only hope is that whoever it is will find you before you lose consciousness. Is it fair to say that in that scenario you strongly desire to be found? Would craving to be found be a reasonable way to think of it? How about “I’d give ANYTHING to be found?”

That’s what “seek” means in the above verse. It means to desire something more than anything else; it’s your absolute top priority. Is that how you see the Kingdom of God?

Now notice, it doesn’t say “in place of all else.” It says, “above all else.” What’s my point? In the King James Version of the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says: “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” We’re not seeking or pursuing some THING; we’re seeking a PERSON. His name is Jesus.

It’s not like a job or career where you devote a lot of your time to it, it’s a 24/7 relationship. The Bible sometimes compares our walk with Jesus to marriage. Just because I’m at work or the gym or out to lunch with a friend, that doesn’t negate my obligation to be faithful to my wife in thought, word, and deed.

When the children of Israel were enslaved by the Egyptians, for all intent and purpose, they had no will of their own. They did what they were told, lived where they were told, ate and drank what they were given. In the New Testament the term often used by Jesus, while sometimes translated as “servant,” is “doulas” which means “slave.”

As a child of God, my highest priority and desire is to be conformed to the likeness of my Master, Jesus. I want no other will but His. I desire no possession but what He provides. I want to live where He wants me to live, eat what He wants me to eat (I sure hope He likes cherry pie 😊), I want to let Him lead in every decision, every detail of my life. Why?

Because I’ve followed Him long enough to know that He knows me best and loves me more than I love myself. Whatever He chooses for me will be better than anything I could possibly choose for myself. I want His Holy Spirit to have full rulership and control of every avenue of my being. Every thought, attitude, or word should be governed by His authority in and over my life.

Isn’t that restrictive? Actually, it’s liberating! Being fully devoted to Jesus allows me to give full expression to the person He created me to be. Every morning I express to Him my desire to have His Spirit love well through me the people in my spheres of influence. I ask Him to let me love my wife like He would if He was married to her and love my children, neighbors, friends, whomever I have contact with throughout my day like He would love them.

Seeking Him first doesn’t make us perfect, but it does make us more sensitive to His leading and more aware of His presence with us nearly every second of the day. If my mind and heart are focused on Jesus, they can’t simultaneously be focused on anything else. So, to the degree I’m able to keep my heart fixed on Him, to that degree I’ll have successfully sought His Kingdom.

Blessings, Ed 😊