Seek ye first the Kingdom of God Meaning, for it is within you and comes to us through experiential living. The presence of Christ on earth and the numerous signs he performed, led him to tell us that the Kingdom had arrived, but will do so in its fullness at the end of time. Note that the end times started with His death and resurrection.
What are the experiential points he wants us to ponder? Well, we must ponder the following; being spiritually minded rather than terrestrial; being merciful; being humble; paying obeisance to the most-high. These points are expounded on below.
The Lord tells us that the Kingdom of heaven is attained by adopting a Christian worldview, which means inculcating the following characteristics into our lives:
a) On the worries of the world Matt 6:25
Man is made in the image of God. We can thus expect our relationship with Him to be closest, in comparison to all His other creations. The gentiles spend their time thinking of what they will eat, drink and wear constantly; we are human and will thus think similarly, but He tells us to concentrate on God and His righteousness, and all else will be added to us. What does seeking this mean? Well, spend your time reading and inculcating the gospels and scripture in general.
To live in the Kingdom, is to emulate his teachings, and this is where hardship begins; it is where the narrow path starts. It is a difficult thing to practice at first, but what tends to happen as you continue seeking the Kingdom is having your eyes opened to a Christian worldview.
You start to see new opportunities and new ways of doing things. It’s amazing how things become clearer and you start seeing the line in the sand that separates the world of mammon and the world of Christ. Ours is an experiential religion, you cannot understand except through practice; only through practice do we inculcate Kingdom character and behaviour.
Parable of the sower, Matt 13:1-23
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b) On heavenly treasure Matt 6:19-24
The parable of the shrewd steward Luke 16: 1-14 focuses on the foresight of the steward, who despite having done something wrong, had the foresight to anticipate the future and act accordingly.
Our Lord tells us to keep our eye on the prize, namely heaven rather than earthly treasure, and thus use foresight to build treasure in heaven through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, neighbourliness, and so on. I tend to think of our treasure in heaven as a bank account where I deposit love, caring, forgiving, suffering slight, and so on, and making withdrawals of anger, sloth, gluttony, harshness, and the like. The ultimate objective is always to be in the black and never in the red.
c) On Mercy Matt 9:9-13
The Pharisees question why He eats with sinners and tax collectors. It was unheard of to associate with such kind, leave alone eat with them. Tax collectors were seen as a higher form of sinner, being Jews that acted as tax agents for Rome, while also lining their own pockets (so essentially stealing from their people). Matthew was such a person, as were his friends, yet he was called. Jesus responds by saying that “He desires mercy and not sacrifices” and that He did not come for the virtuous but for sinners.
The meaning of mercy and not sacrifice has to do with the mercy that God shows his creation; our maker is quick to show mercy before condemnation and wrath. We, as His creation, are asked to do the same. Our Lord came to save all. For as long as there is repentance, He will always be accessible.
Nobody is beyond repentance according to the teachings of our Lord. Christ offers redemption for prostitutes, drunkards, murderers, drug traffickers, and so on. Nobody is beyond redemption and it is our duty as Christians to keep sharing this important message.
d) On the fear of God (Matt 10:27-30)
There is no better way to live one’s life than with a healthy respect for your maker. It is this fear that leads men to question their consciences as to whether they do right or wrong. The fear of the consequences of sin is a respect for God's commandments, and thus a fear of God. It is better to fear the one that can destroy both body and soul.
I always think of the talkative demons our Lord encountered in His ministry when I reflect on this point. Not one of the demons was in doubt as to who He was, and they were frightened of Him. If demons both recognize and fear him, I fear for human beings that choose not to recognize or listen to him.
The unforgivable sin (Mark 3:20-35).
The scribes are in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, by deliberately attributing the work of God to Satan. You need not worry, by simply having a fear of God, you are incapable of committing this sin.
e) On the greatest in the Kingdom (Mark 9:30-50)
The disciples are expecting a military messiah who will overthrow the Romans and establish earthly political power. Using a small child as an example, He that true greatness involves humility and service. He prohibits them from setting up barriers to keep out rivals who are also doing compassionate ministry. There will be rewards for those who minister in His name and a warning against those who hinder discipleship by tolerating sin.
We continue in the next post
Enjoy