Time for the Kingdom (5)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6.33

Every moment for the King
Since, as we have seen, the Lord Jesus grants us the time of our lives for the purpose of augmenting, improving, and expanding His rule on earth as it is in heaven, we do well to take His command about seeking the Kingdom into every area of our lives. The time of our lives in these last days is God’s gift to equip and enable us to know, love, enjoy, and serve Him, and to advance His economy on earth as it is in heaven.

We are making the most of the time of our lives when we are using every moment of it on the King’s business, devoting ourselves to the progress of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit as our overarching framework for life, and loving God and our neighbors in everything we do (Rom. 14.17, 18; Matt. 22.34-40).

The better we understand and the more consistent we become in practicing the Kingship of Jesus and in seeking His Kingdom, the better use we will make of the time of our lives in bringing glory and honor to the Lord.

Know the King
Seeking the Kingdom means preparing and growing and living in such a way as to experience and express the reality of Christ’s rule in every area of our lives.

This requires, in the first place, that we maintain a vibrant and fruitful relationship with the Lord of the Kingdom Himself.

Peter commands us to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we encounter Him in His glory through the various disciplines He has provided (2 Pet. 3.18; 2 Cor. 3.12-18). We cannot expect to have much success in advancing the rule of Christ if we do not know the Lord well enough to understand how He would have us use the time of our lives for His honor and glory. The paltry spiritual life that characterizes many professing Christians will keep them from making the most of the time of their lives for the Lord, for the simple reason that their relationship with Him is not as deep and vibrant as it should be.

The Kingdom visible
The Kingdom of God, that reign of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, comes to expression in our lives through the various relationships, roles, and responsibilities in which we engage each day. Thus, the more mindful we are about these, and the better we prepare for each and the more attentive and diligent we are in conducting them, the greater will be the likelihood that what we are learning about Christ and His Kingdom will become visible in all the work we’re given to do each day.

When our own lives become filled with Jesus and His Word, He will overflow from us to fill all aspects of our lives with Himself (Jn. 7.37-39). But we must be filled with Him through the disciplines of Word, prayer, meditation, solitude, and obedience. Then the hope in which we stand will grow, such that it becomes visible to others in all the time of our lives (Rom. 5.1, 2; 1 Pet. 3.15).

The agent of the Kingdom
Finally, we seek the Kingdom of God when we are involved in the work of making disciples and building the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28.18-20).

The Church is the agent of the Kingdom – a sign of its presence and the outpost of its advance. Local churches broker the grace and truth of the Kingdom to the world, through the lives and ministries of faithful disciples and witnesses of Jesus Christ. Each of us is called to participate in the great work of making disciples and bearing witness for Christ; using our time with others to encourage, instruct, and assist them in knowing the Lord and growing in Him; and joining with other disciples to carry out the various works of ministry that build up the local community of believers in unity and maturity (Eph. 4.11-16).

Making disciples is not the calling of pastors alone. Jesus expects all His subjects to be actively involved in this great work. Similarly, each of us has unique gifts and opportunities for ministering to others, and we must be faithful stewards of these, identifying, developing, improving, and using them as the Lord leads us day by day (1 Pet. 4.10, 11; 1 Cor. 4.1, 2).

When we are seeking the Kingdom of God in these ways – growing in the Lord, doing His work in all our work and other activities, and making disciples and building His Church – we will be making the best possible use of the time entrusted to us by the Lord. Then we can expect to generate a return on Christ’s investment that brings honor and glory to the Lord and the blessings of peace to those around us.

Thus the time that flows to us, pristine and purposeful, will flow back to Christ, adorned with grace and glory, and bringing Him honor and praise.

For reflection or discussion
1.  Do you think it’s possible to live every moment of our lives for the righteousness, peace, and joy of the King and His Kingdom? In love for God and our neighbors? Why or why not?

2.  What are some ways we should expect the Kingdom of God to “become visible” in or through our lives?

3.  Do the Christians you know think of their lives as “refracting” the light of Christ and His Kingdom into “whatever they do” (1 Cor. 10.31)? Why or why not?

Next steps – Transformation: How would you evaluate yourself in each of the three areas of Kingdom-seeking mentioned in this study? What can you do to improve and become more consistent in each of these? Share your thoughts with a church leader or pastor, and ask for help or guidance in making better use of the time allotted to you.

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 2 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Time for the Kingdom” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click 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.