Jesus spoke often of the “Kingdom of God”. One of the most famous verses about the kingdom is in Matthew where Jesus says “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.
In this section, Jesus is telling the people not to worry about the daily necessities of their life. Many of us have never had to worry about having clothes to wear or food to eat. Instead many of us worry about not having the clothes we want to wear or the food we want to eat. We spend much of our time going after the accessories of our life. We work hard to follow the American Dream and provide extras for our family.
What does Jesus say to those who worry? Seek the kingdom first. What does he say to us who seek after many unnecessary things? Seek the kingdom first!
To seek the kingdom first means to have the priorities that rule God’s kingdom. God, in his loving power, sent his son to draw us back to him through Christ’s atonement for our sin. It is God’s desire that we should be in relationship with him. So we match God’s priority and work to help others join us in the kingdom by faith in Jesus.
To seek the kingdom also means that we strive to see things the way God does. We love people how he loves. We serve as he served. We love our neighbor as he commanded us.
As Jesus’ followers, we live in the reality of his death and resurrection. We are freed from our sin. We are free to follow him. We are free to seek the kingdom first.