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 must take the work of seeking the Kingdom into every area of our lives. The time of our lives in these last days is God’s gift to equip, enable, and empower us to understand the secrets of the Kingdom and to know, love, enjoy, and serve Him, by advancing 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 great secret of history—the coming of the Kingdom of God—is the one we are called to embody, declare, and establish.
Know the King
But what does it mean to seek the Kingdom as Jesus indicates, so that it is first in all we do? The defining priority and driving force of our lives?
Seeking the Kingdom entails preparing, growing, and living in such a way as to know and express the reality of Christ’s rule in every area of our lives.
This requires that we maintain a vibrant and fruitful relationship with the Lord of the Kingdom Himself. We will not likely exert much effort in the direction of advancing the Kingdom economy if our love for the King is not wholehearted, all-affecting, and filling every moment.
We must devote ourselves to growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3.18; 2 Cor. 3.12-18). We pursue this challenge through the various disciplines Jesus has provided: prayer, the Word of God, solitude and meditation, worship, service, and obedience in all things. By these means Christ will increase in us, in how we think, what we desire, what we value, and how we choose to live. These disciplines enable us to know the Lord Jesus alive in and through us. 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. And such knowledge only comes by a disciplined use of our time in seeking and knowing the Lord.
The Kingdom of God, that reign of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, is manifested through the various relationships, roles, and responsibilities in which we engage each day. Thus, the more mindful we are of the Presence of our King, and the better we prepare for the work of each day, the more what we are learning about Christ and His Kingdom will become visible in all the work we’re given to do (Ps. 90.12, 16, 17).
When we are filled with Jesus and His Word, He will overflow from us to fill all aspects of our lives with Himself (Jn. 7.37-39; Eph. 4.8-10). But we must be filled with Him through the disciplines He has provided. Then the hope in which we stand will increase and grow stronger, 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
Further, we seek the Kingdom of God by 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, working out the secrets of the Kingdom, broker the grace and truth of the Kingdom to the world through the lives and ministries of faithful disciples and witnesses of Jesus Christ. Disciple-making is an “as-you-are-going” endeavor. 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; 1 Cor. 12.7-11).
Making disciples is not the calling of pastors alone. Jesus expects all His subjects to be actively involved in this great work. Yes, He gave this command to His disciples, gathered in Galilee. But as part of that command He directed them to teach us everything He had taught them. Like making disciples.
All who believe in Jesus should work to become teachers; we must make the most of every opportunity to speak a word of witness or edification in His Name (Heb. 5.9). Each day the Lord brings us into situations where, by our words and deeds, we may encourage and edify our Christian brethren and show Jesus to our neighbors. The reality of the Kingdom advances grace by grace, as the Lord works through each one of us, inching His way forward in and through our daily lives (2 Cor. 4.15).
When we are seeking the Kingdom of God in these ways—growing in the Lord, doing His will 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 return to Christ, adorned with grace and glory, bearing fruit from Kingdom seeds, and bringing Him honor and praise.
For reflection
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 you should expect the Kingdom of God to become visible in your life?
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—preparing, growing, and living? What can you do to improve and become more consistent in each of these? Review your plan for “numbering your days” to know the glory of God, and commit it to the Lord in prayer.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: This week in our Read Moore we begin selections from our book, Understanding the Times. This book will be a valuable companion to our study of “The Kingdom Economy.” In our Crosfigell column we’re following Brendan, a 6th century Irish saint, as he pursues the Kingdom economy in his extraordinary adventures. Our daily Scriptoriumcolumn takes up the Gospel of John this week in our continuing series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures.”
Thank you.
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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.
