SEEK FIRST

Seek First

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus gives us a foolproof recipe for life: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Have I found myself in overwhelming circumstances? Have I found myself feeling overburdened, distraught, defeated, unwanted, or unloved? Then consider those words from God Almighty: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Has that been my life’s undeniable, unshakable, unapologetic plan and priority?

Have I been chasing hard after Christ first-and-foremost?

If so, then maybe the encouragement needed today is to know that you are exactly where God wants you to be, so that He can conform you into the image and likeness (selfless community) of Christ. The enemy wants us, like Job, to feel alone, abandoned, punished, and hopeless. Job endured, and Scripture tells us, “In all this job did not sin by foolishly charging God with any wrongdoing.”

If I have been seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness, then, in addition to finding encouragement in Scripture, be encourage to live out the image and likeness of Christ, i.e. selfless community.

How? Call upon some of your Christian friends to pray with and for you. Call upon the elders of your church to pray over you, your family, and your circumstances. We cannot be transformed into the image and likeness of Christ in a vacuum. Selfless community requires authentic relationships within the context of Christian community, i.e. the church. We cannot be part of the Body of Christ and consider our faith a “private thing.”

Maybe I thought that I have been seeking Him first, but then God has pressed upon my heart and said, “That’s not truly been the case.” Maybe, as it turns out, I’ve been seeking security, comfort, or recognition first. Maybe I’ve been dabbling more in worldly philosophy than I realized or wanted to admit.

Remember what Paul told us in Romans 14:23, “...and everything that does not come from faith is sin?”

Putting God first in all things is the practical application of faith - for which there is no substitute. We can talk about Jesus all day long, go to church on Sundays, tithe, go on mission, but none of that amounts to anything apart from reckless abandon to faith in Christ.

Am I seeking Him first in all things?

Is my response to the past, present, and future rooted in faith?

Am I allowing myself to be conformed into selfless community that is the character and nature of Christ, and our God of Holy Trinity?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com