Seeking The Kingdom of God

God's blessings of the kingdom are freely given to those who desire them. To gain the blessings of the kingdom requires individual responsibility, alignment of priorities and a specific objective.

Seek The Kingdom

This speaks to our personal responsibility. The implied subject is "you" seek. Salvation is personal. No one can be saved on another's behalf. We may intercede for one another. We can provoke and encourage one another to good works. Ultimately, each one must give account of himself before God.

On Pentecost Peter exhorted the hearers to save themselves, (Acts 2:40). One must care about and love himself enough to save himself. Work out your own salvation, (Phil. 2:12).

Seek First

Each time one boards a plane, the flight attendants repeat the legally required safety drill. In the case of a loss of oxygen a flap will open automatically and the oxygen mask will drop down. We are told to then secure our masks first.

Salvation is a matter of urgency and prioritization of our objectives in life. To build the proper foundation for life, things should be done in the correct order.

Christ is the spiritual foundation for life. Building on the foundation is the first part of securing a stable dwelling. Many aimlessly wander about through life seeking one thrill after the next to fill the void which only God can fill.

The priority of the kingdom is critical because of the value of one's soul. "For what is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26).

One rich man got his priorities mixed up. He worked hard, reaped a bountiful harvest and had no room to store his abundance of crops and possessions. Instead of seeking God, he trusted the sufficiency of his wealth, sought as the goal of life to take it easy, and to eat, drink and be merry. However, that same night he died, (Lk. 12:15-21).

It is not a sin to be rich nor a virtue to be poor, but it is a sin to place confidence in the riches rather than the source from whom all blessings flow, (1 Tim. 6:17).

Riches are unstable for two reasons. They can quickly take flight from us. Or we can take flight from them through death, like the farmer above.

Former vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin boasted of Alaska's oil wealth during the campaign. Recently she is in the news because of dropping oil prices that threatens the Alaskan economy if oil prices continue to spiral downward.

Seek First The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness

The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God. God reigns in righteousness, not through taxes or military might as with the kingdoms of men. Righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom, (Heb. 1:8, 9; Rom. 14:17).

Announced as at hand by both John, the Baptizer and Christ during their personal ministries, the kingdom arrived in the first century for all men to enter. Its arrival was consummated in connection with Jerusalem's fall by the Rome in A.D. 70 according to the prophecies of Daniel, 2:44-45, 7:14, 27, as announced by Christ, Lk. 21:31-32.

The righteousness of God is the way God makes man righteous, (Rom. 1:16, 17). This he does through obedience and acceptance of Jesus Christ. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes," (Rom. 10:4).

God's promise is that for those who seek him first, all things essential to life are added to them. They do not need to spend their lives in the pursuit of things. Rather, things will pursue them while they seek the higher purpose of life, i.e. God. It's the ultimate law of attraction that comes with a guarantee,(Prov. 3:9-10).

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