City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Matthew 6:31-33

Reflection

Priority is a wonderful thing. It helps one sort between multiple options and decide what should be done first, what should be done often, and sometimes what should not be done at all. It brings focus and clarity.  

Priority and purpose need each other. Priority without purpose may lead one down the wrong path, while purpose without priority leads one nowhere. Both are necessary.  And when the Lord tells us what our priorities are to be, we can be confident He is not leading us down a fruitless path and that the path will reveal our purpose.

Jesus said we should have two priorities in our lives: (1) that we seek first the kingdom of God; and (2) that we seek His righteousness. Matt. 6:33. Understanding these two priorities reveal God’s purpose for our lives.

Seeking first God’s kingdom means maintaining and seeking to expand God’s kingdom on the earth. The verb tense for “seek” as used in this verse means to “keep seeking.” This makes no sense if understood solely in the context of one’s salvation. One need not continue to seek to be born again any more than a U.S. Citizen need to continue seeking to become a U.S. Citizen, or the vaccinated continue seeking to become vaccinated. 

Seeking the kingdom of God means to seek to carry out the purposes of the kingdom of God on earth, which includes expanding its population through evangelism and promoting its purpose by stewarding those people, places, and things the Lord has given you, in accordance with His will and tempered with His love. It means being an agent for positive change in the world to reconcile the world to God and transform it into the place He intended it to be. 

Seeking God’s righteousness means seeking to become like Jesus. It is the process of sanctification. As the Apostle Paul declared, “This is God’s will for you, your sanctification.” I Thess. 4:3. Sanctification means being conformed to Jesus’ image. It is what we used to call holiness before a cynical culture conflated the word with self-righteousness.  

And here is why sanctification matters: It is our sanctification, not our justification, that changes the world. Or to say it another way, changed people change the world. So, the more I take on the character of Jesus, the more useful I become to Him to positively influence those around me. And the genius of this is that the second priority of sanctification supports the first priority of advancing the kingdom. It is a glorious cycle.

Application

So, next time when you are trying to figure out what it is most important that you do, maybe ask yourself: What can I do that will make me more like Jesus, and what can I do to advance God’s kingdom?

Prayer

Lord, please change me, so I can change the world. Amen.