Much to Be Desired
Seeking the Kingdom is to be the driving force of everything we do.
A Framework for Faith/Spiritual Disciplines
We should strive then for the kingdom of heaven...It is a bright flower in its great purity, it is an open sea in its great beauty, it a heaven full of candles in its true brilliance, it is the eye's delight in its great loveliness and pleasantness, it is a flame in its fairness, it is a harp in its melodiousness, it is a feast in its abundance of wine, it is a true radiance.
- Anonymous, An Old Irish Homily (Irish, 9th century)
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
- Romans 14.17, 18
Doubtless every Christian knows that the Lord Jesus has assigned to us, as our highest priority, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6.33). We know this. But we are only blessed if we do it.
Seeking the Kingdom is not simply the first thing we should do each day, before we get on with all the other things we have to do. Seeking the Kingdom is to be the driving force, the goal, and the purpose of everything we do at every moment. We want the rule of Jesus Christ to become the dominant presence in all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities.
That's right, isn't it? We do want that? Or do we just know that this is what we're supposed to want?
We will not seek the Kingdom in this way - striving after it, laying hold of it with violence, as it were (Matt. 11.12) - until we see the Kingdom in all its magnificence, beauty, power, goodness, and uprightness and desire it as our highest goal. This is the way Celtic Christians saw the Kingdom, and it was this understanding, this vision, of the Kingdom that led them to strive by every means, often at great sacrifice, to attain it.
But I rather suspect that most of us don't really understand the Kingdom of God. And, if we don't understand it, it's going to be hard to make it the driving force of all our lives. We cannot seek what we do not know.
The parables of Jesus, together with the teaching of the Psalms and prophets, are rich resources for understanding the Kingdom of God. Meditate on what you see there. Believe it to be as Jesus says - a pearl of great price, a seed fraught with fruit-bearing potential - then go to serve Christ in every aspect of your life, that His Kingdom might prevail and He might reign there through you.
Seeking the Kingdom is the Lord's calling to us, every day, in everything we do. How will you strive to attain this glorious objective today?
T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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