Ahhh..., been abandoned this blog for more than a month. Many things happened, but I wouldn't share it today. In fact, I'm preparing it as a whole story to share later.
Today, I would like to share about something I've been meditating. I also share it with my two best friends via email as our online connect group (cell group/ bible study group)
Today I'd like to invite you to meditate over a simple verse that we're all familiar with:
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
I don't know about you, but for many years I have considered this verse as a prerequisite for getting the "all these things". You know, all things we need/want in life, such as prosperity, health, job/career, future husband/wife, successful ministry, happy marriage, or just getting good marks in exams. For instance, when I only got a C or D for my exam back then, I always thought that it was because I didn't seek His kingdom first. Then I tried to read the bible more often, pray more often, get more involved in ministry, and then study hard to fulfill the "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness". Or, when I've been waiting for a miracle for so long and there's not a single clue about it at all, I thought that it might be...because I had not sought His kingdom enough, so it has not been given to me yet. Also, when I shared to some christian friends about how I had not been successful in my study in the past, no luck in relationship, and had not got things I've been waiting for, they cited this verse for me.
So in my own paraphrase, I thought that I have to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, in order to get all these things given to me as well. Can you see how it's twisted?
As I come to realize about this error, I feel that Holy Spirit shed a light on me concerning this. I believe that it's about focus. Are we focusing on earthly things (food, clothing, etc.) as mentioned in the passage, or are we really focusing on His kingdom and His righteousness?
Or.....,to make it more complicated
, are we trying to focus on His kingdom and His righteousness because we're hoping that all those things will be given to us?
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
I don't know about you, but for many years I have considered this verse as a prerequisite for getting the "all these things". You know, all things we need/want in life, such as prosperity, health, job/career, future husband/wife, successful ministry, happy marriage, or just getting good marks in exams. For instance, when I only got a C or D for my exam back then, I always thought that it was because I didn't seek His kingdom first. Then I tried to read the bible more often, pray more often, get more involved in ministry, and then study hard to fulfill the "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness". Or, when I've been waiting for a miracle for so long and there's not a single clue about it at all, I thought that it might be...because I had not sought His kingdom enough, so it has not been given to me yet. Also, when I shared to some christian friends about how I had not been successful in my study in the past, no luck in relationship, and had not got things I've been waiting for, they cited this verse for me.
So in my own paraphrase, I thought that I have to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, in order to get all these things given to me as well. Can you see how it's twisted?
As I come to realize about this error, I feel that Holy Spirit shed a light on me concerning this. I believe that it's about focus. Are we focusing on earthly things (food, clothing, etc.) as mentioned in the passage, or are we really focusing on His kingdom and His righteousness?
Or.....,to make it more complicated
, are we trying to focus on His kingdom and His righteousness because we're hoping that all those things will be given to us?Jesus clearly said that we should not worry about all of our needs in life because Father in heaven knows it all. Also, God wants us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col 3:2). Why? I think the previous and next verses cover it very well (Col 3:1, 3, 4). Because we have been raised with Christ, our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. In other words, our citizenship is no longer of this world. Since we're alive in Christ, our citizenship is of the kingdom of God. If we are the citizens of His kingdom, then seeking His kingdom and His righteousness is pretty natural, isn't it? So, we'll seek His kingdom and righteousness for the sake of His kingdom and righteousness themselves, because we are its citizen. No more wrong/hidden motives.
Now the question is.....what are His kingdom and His righteousness? How can wee seek them if we don't know what or where they are? Are they merely about doing more things in the ministry, or spending more time for reading the bible?
The last question, what about those things we need/want/hope for. Is it wrong wanting them? Aren't future spouse, marriage, ministry thingy considered as heavenly things? I'll let you have your thought on this
Hi Rosalia, its a nice post. We tend to assume this verse for our own benefit, where God is actually looking for our motives. Pls blog walk to my blog www.purposedlycreated.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Bang Erich. Yep, it's a matter of state of the heart. I will drop by your blog too. GBU
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