But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
If there is anything that concerns a family man, is how to make
sure he earns enough to provide for his family. He wants to make sure that
there is food in the house, that his children attend good schools, that he
provides accommodation and that they enjoy the basic things in life. Sometimes this
can be a burden in the mind of who is concerned.
In the Old testament based on the provisions in the law,
prosperity was covered. God would make sure that they were blessed enough to
meet up all their needs. But there was something involved!
It was contingent on your ability to be faithful and keep
the law. So if you saw any rich man in the Old Testament, he was probably
Righteous in terms on terms of reckoning with the demands of the law. His
self-righteousness was a ticket to the blessing of the Old covenant.
That explained why most of them were cold and not
compassionate. If you wanted to enjoy life, “Go and pay your own dues”
When Jesus told them to seek the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, he wasn’t telling them to be very committed in the activities in
the temple, be faithful to pay all their offerings and tithes, keep every word
of the law. They were already doing this as Jews. I believe we have grown up
thinking that seeking the kingdom is our performance for God and the church we
belong.
Seeking the kingdom was a total departure from what they had
known as Jews. Seeking the kingdom was going into the place that the Messiah
they had longed expected was to bring on earth. How were they to enter this
kingdom?
14Now after
John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel
of God, 15and saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel." (Mark 1)
The same verse is also echoed in Matthew 4 before Jesus told
them in chapter 6 to seek the kingdom. They needed to repent. What is
repentance in this regard?
The Greek word for “repent” means “a change of mind” and
that definition is universal throughout the New Testament. When the Word speaks
of repentance it is talking about man changing the way he thinks or the way
that he views a situation.
He was bringing them to understand God as the father who was
interested in their welfare. Not only is He interested but also committed to
provide as a shepherd over the pasture. He started by presenting a God cares
about us having the things of life. He wants us to have all these things. In
fact, He wants all these things added to us.
He tells us that the way these things are added to us by the
father is by us seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Therefore,
our number one priority every day is to seek the kingdom of God and His
righteousness.
Seeking our righteousness would mean the things we do and
our performance to gain the blessings through our efforts. He was speaking to
the roots of their life as Jews. If you want to enjoy the goodness of the
father without struggle, labour to enter His rest.
He was also pointing to the establishment of God's kingdom that would manifest from the advert of the New covenant. The early Church looked forward to the coming of the new
[Kingdom] age. As they were taught by Jesus they knew that, with the visible end of the Old Covenant system,
the Church would be revealed as the new, true Temple; and the work Christ came
to perform would be accomplished.
This was was a vital aspect of redemption,
and the first-generation Christians looked forward to this event in their
own lifetime. During this period of transition, the apostle
Peter assured his brethren in their trials that they were "protected by the power of God through
faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter
1:5). They were on the very threshold of the new world, which was God's kingdom on earth.
The Righteousness Part?
But what is righteousness? Righteousness is not right
behavior. It is right standing with the Father. It is the clearance of all your
guilt, which makes you able to stand before God. It is not something you get
through right behavior. It is a gift from God. Paul calls it “the
gift of righteousness”. (Romans 5:17) And to “seek” this gift is to be
conscious of the fact that you have it, to confess that you are righteous in
Christ.
What was Israel’s problem? They were trying to get this
blessings by seeking their own righteousness.
“Dear brothers, the longing of my heart and my prayer is
that the Jewish people might be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they
have for the honor of God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they
don’t understand that Christ has died to make them right with God. Instead they
are trying to make themselves good enough to gain God’s favor by keeping the
Jewish laws and customs, but that is not God’s way of salvation. 4 They
don’t understand that Christ gives to those who trust in him everything they
are trying to get by keeping his laws. He ends all of that.” (Romans 10:1-4)
So this righteousness we are told to seek is not right
behavior, but right standing before God, which comes to us as a gift when we
receive salvation. At the cross, Jesus didn’t just remove our sins, He also
gave us His righteousness so that today, we can come boldly before the throne
of God and receive freely everything that He died to give us!
So today, if you want to provide your family with the good
things in life, be assured that your heavenly Father knows that you need these
things. Just seek His righteousness, not your own righteousness, and “all these
things shall be added to you”!
Don’t depend on your performance for the good things in life
but rejoice in His grace towards you.
Believe it is at work and that you are
now His righteousness therefore He is adding the things that gentiles are
pursuing into your life.
