Seeking God? If not, why not?

^“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

In our Bible study Saturday, we continued our study of Kingdom-of-God-living.  Jesus spoke often about the Kingdom of God.  Up until that time, the time God came as a baby in a manger, I mean, the Kingdom of God was always thought to be something  God’s people would experience in the future.  Jesus was telling the people that the Kingdom of God was also there, with them, right then.  He had come to bring them Kingdom-of-God-living even in the midst of Roman persecution.

So what is Kingdom-of-God-living?  We see it in the people around the world who are being martyred for their faith.  We see it in their strength and peace as they face horrible deaths, while still holding strong to their faith in Jesus.

Could you do that?  I mean if someone were about to cut your head off, or burn you alive, do you think you could hold fast to your belief in Jesus, or would you give Jesus up to avoid a tortuous death?

How does a person develop such faith?

“Seek me first,” God says.  Jesus explained that to the people when he preached what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.  You can read the whole sermon in Matthew chapters 5-7.

Last week our group read through the Bible from beginning to end.  No, not the whole Bible, but I had picked our verses all the way through that lifted up God’s call for us to seek him, draw near to him, follow him.  In each case he promised to be found if we sought him, to draw near to us if we draw near to him, and to lead if we choose to follow.

I think there were 7 pages of scripture after scripture after scripture from Genesis to Revelations.  It was a constant call of God to his people.  It was a continuous theme throughout the Bible from the first book of the Old Testament to the last book of the New Testament, God calling his beloved.  That’s you and me in case you did not realize that by now.  We are God’s beloved and he is calling us.

Jesus tells us if we seek God first, everything else in life will fall into place.  It does not mean that there will be no problems, pain, or even persecution.  Jesus did mean, however, that God will be with us ALWAYS. Having God with you can make a big difference in how one navigates the painful events in life.  Having God with you makes a big difference in our characters, in what we find meaningful, and so much more.

Most importantly, seeking God, and drawing near to God change our perspective on life in the macro and the micro.  God opens our eyes to see more of the big picture we could not see before.  God opens our ears to hear more of his guidance and teaching, to understand more than we did before.  And God opens our hearts to love more than we did before, even to the point of loving the unlovable.

It is an amazing journey that begins so simply.  We just need to start seeking God.  He will take care of all the rest.  We can have Kingdom-of-God-living now.  We can have peace that passes all understanding (meaning peace when we should not have peace).  We can have joy even in the midst of troubles.  Imagine such a life!  It is ours for the asking.  “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  It starts by seeking God first.

I hope you will begin each day seeking God.  He longs to be found by you.

Peace,

M.