The Kingdom of God

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Matthew 6:33

Have you ever wondered what it means to seek God’s kingdom? My wife and I recently went to see the movie “Tomorrowland.” Throughout the film, the tale of two wolves - one representing darkness and despair, and the other representing hope and optimism – is frequently referenced. When asked which wolf wins in a fight, the answer is the one you choose to feed. This brought to mind the importance of seeking the kingdom of God and not conceding to a world full of distractions and discouragement. “Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16) Seeking the kingdom of God means living focused daily on His activity in our lives. We grow more and more open to allowing God to be present in everything that we are and everything that we do. We learn to submit to Him as He transforms us into what He intended us to be. The peace of His presence then empowers us to live as overcomers in this world. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Dallas Willard observed in his book The Great Omission, "that anytime somebody does something great for God, it always begins with a vision. But the vision isn’t what I’m going to do. It’s not what we’re going to do. The vision is a vision of God and how good God is and how fortunate I am to be alive in God’s universe." As God told Jeremiah, “Call to Me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) That is the way God’s vision works in our lives. We keep gong back to it because it is so good. The challenge is not letting the world distract or discourage us from the vision of what God is doing. Grace to you, Steve