But priorities have to be translated into more concrete terms before we can actually pursue them. For example, “become rich” isn’t something one can pursue apart from some more concrete objectives, such as “get a good job,” “work hard,” “save as much as I can,” and so forth.

Our priorities, in other words, need to be translated into tangible, meaningful pursuits or else they’ll just remain more pie-in-the-sky than bird-in-the-hand.

The key to achieving our priorities, therefore, lies in making our pursuits as concrete as possible, and then continually regarding those pursuits as the first things we must attend to every day.

...not just first, but always

The Kingdom of God is the concrete pursuit which enables us to act on and toward the priority of glorifying God in all things.

Jesus wants us to know God and to glorify Him, and He says that the way to do this is to “seek first” the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

But in this case, seeking the Kingdom of God is not a matter of doing first things first. Seeking the Kingdom is not just the first thing on the Christian’s daily to-do list. Seeking the Kingdom is a first things always proposition, so that whatever is on our to-do list on any given day, seeking the Kingdom is the first things pursuit which defines and directs everything else we do.

Going to work today? Seek the Kingdom. Taking the kids to the library? Seek the Kingdom. Going for a walk? Working out at the gym? Taking a test at school? Seek the Kingdom. Everything in our lives – every moment of every day – is an arena for seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seeking the Kingdom is first things first and always, the defining pursuit of all who have made the Kingdom turn.

What is the Kingdom?

But it’s possible that the Kingdom of God may itself be a somewhat abstract idea for some people. Jesus understood that. This is why He employed so many different images and stories to help us in thinking about the Kingdom – its character, value, and potential.

Jesus helps us cultivate a vision of the Kingdom, but you can’t beat the Apostle Paul for reducing difficult ideas down to manageable definitions. Paul tells us that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18). In our personal lives, all our relationships, all our involvement with culture – in all these areas we are seeking at all times to realize more of the Kingdom of God, His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, where now the various worldviews of relativism and materialism hold sway.

Righteousness describes the character of the Kingdom. It is the character of Jesus, the Law of God, and all the moral teaching of the Bible. We must learn righteousness and then “put it on” every day, in every situation, in all our words and deeds (Eph. 4.17-24).

Peace is the condition brought about by a life of righteousness. When we live in righteousness we are “in step” with Jesus Himself (1 Jn. 2.1-6), and He is, after all the Prince of Peace. His peace reaches us to the depths of our souls, so that nothing can shake us from that overall sense of wellbeing which walking in righteousness produces in us (Phil. 4.6, 7).

Joy is the consequence of righteousness and peace, so that, as we work to bring the character of the Kingdom into every aspect of life, and know the peace that comes with that, joy and rejoicing lead us to worship God with gladness and gratitude. Thus God is glorified and we experience His glory, just as He intends.

And all this, of course, can only be accomplished “in the Spirit,” as Paul says. The Spirit is the power for our pursuit of the Kingdom and glory of God. And if you’ve made the Kingdom turn, incredible, unlimited power is available to you, for the asking. But you must, of course, dare to ask.

Next steps

What do you do to make sure that seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of God is the “first thing always” in every aspect of your life? Ask a church leader to help you think through this question.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, The Kingdom Turn.

T. M. has written two books to complement this eight-part series. You can order The Kingship of Jesus by clicking here, and The Gospel of the Kingdom by clicking here.For a brief study of what it means to pursue culture every day for the glory of God, order T. M.’s book, Christians on the Front Lines of the Culture Wars by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.