But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
— Matthew 6:33-34
Following the Call—Chap. 43: God’s Kingdom First
What are you living for? What scripts your life? It’s not about religion. Your turn.
God’s kingdom works in strange ways. Where is there a church, congregation, or even a single person manifesting the kingdom of God today?
— Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt
What Are You Living For?
When I met Carl, he was a foster kid. His mother died when he was two, his father was an alcoholic, and his older brother lived with another family in a different town. Carl told me he had one ambition in life: to have a family. When Carl finished college, he got married. His wife, however, left him within a year. She ran off with some guru in Berkeley, California. A year later, Carl married a college friend of mine. They raised a wonderful family of four.
Matt was a young man whom my wife and I used to know. We were friends of his parents and often went to his high school track meets. Matt was a high-jumper, and broke the high school state record in high jumping. His goal in life? To win an Olympic medal, which he eventually did. For years, his life centered around high jumping. You could see it in what he ate, how much he slept, the exercise routine he underwent, what clothing he wore, and the endless hours he spent jumping. Granted, Matt had other interests, like whitewater rafting, but he had one ambition: jumping in the Olympics.
When Jesus says that we are to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness he is telling us to be singly devoted to God’s cause, to make God’s reign our supreme priority—the thing that determines and motivates what we do. This should be our highest ambition in life; we are to hunger and thirst for it and run after it, much like unbelievers do when trying to obtain earthly treasures and success. It takes everything we have.
“There are only two kinds of ambition,” writes John Stott. “One can be ambitious either for oneself or for God. There is no third alternative.” Either we are all-in or not. God’s kingdom is all-consuming because it is all-encompassing. As Stott explains, “God’s kingdom is Jesus Christ ruling over and in his people in total blessing and total demand.” (Sermon on the Mount). When we seek first God’s kingdom, we commit ourselves to do everything we can to demonstrate God’s righteous order on earth—in our personal, professional, social, and public life.
What Scripts Your Life?
A friend of mine is a professional actress. When she gets an acting role her life dramatically changes. She eats differently, walks and speaks differently, even dresses and acts differently. She hangs out with different people, wears different makeup, and words people aren’t used to hearing from her come out of her mouth. She inhabits her part, from sunrise to sunset until it’s time for the opening curtain. She’s living in a different world. There’s no mistaking it: she’s a character in a different story.
Seeking God’s kingdom is like this: our lives get re-scripted; we are now characters in God’s story, not the world’s. Carl had a particular story in mind of what having a family was about. So did Matt when it came to being an Olympic athlete. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to live into God’s story, and when we do we are transformed. That story is about how God is winning his wayward creation back to himself. It’s also about the part we play in the fulfillment of God’s plan.
In the Bible God elects a people (Israel) to demonstrate what life is like when he reigns supreme. That life is a light to a world dwelling in darkness. Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life—is the central character in God’s story of redemption. In him we get a picture of how God’s kingdom breaks into our midst and how it transforms everything. His story is not only different from but contrary to the many scripts proffered by this world. To enter it means a complete turn-around, a break from a life bent on governing itself.
To seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness means living out a story that rewrites our lives. That story only makes sense if God’s coming kingdom is actually on the way. And because we believe that this is so, we live with purpose so that whatever else we do in life we reflect God’s ambition for the earth. When this is our ambition, people see it. They can look at our lives and know what Jesus is all about.
It’s Not about Religion
The selections in this chapter make one point clear: Jesus did not bring a religion. God’s kingdom does not consist of a set of religious practices that are distinct from the rest of life. Leonhard Ragaz even goes so far as to say that God’s kingdom is “the abolishment of all religion,” which includes “Christianity.” Blumhardt says pretty much the same thing. “Lots of religious activity deprives people of their true life….In God’s kingdom, Christian churches are done for.”
This may seem overly critical and judgmental. But an honest reading of Jesus’ life, not to mention of the Sermon on the Mount, will show that it has little to do with being religious as traditionally practiced or understood, or with our modern interest in “spirituality.” Jesus did not say “worship” or “meditate” and then all these things will be given to you as well. God is honored when he is Lord over every square inch of life, when we live on his terms with joy and pleasure, in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). The kind of praise or devotion he looks for arises not so much from our lips but from our lives (Rom. 12:1-2).
To seek first God’s kingdom means that we live in the presence of his future. In Ragaz’s words, we exhibit the first-fruits of “a new creation, a new world.” This is not about climbing up to some otherworldly plane or diving into the crevasses of one’s soul. It means experiencing and living life—all of life—as God meant it to be. Such a life pulsates with God’s beating heart of love, justice, and peace, where God himself brings everything together in him and makes everything right. It is a life that gives us everything we need to glorify God.
Your Turn
Is it possible (or even realistic) for God’s kingdom to be our one and only ambition? Just reply to this email to leave a comment.
Gracie, St. Chas. The straightforward question at the end is simply answered by Jesus when he describes two different chaps who discover the absolute worth/value/glory of this radical new Modus Vivendi - the Kingdom. One apparently stumbles over it in a field, then buys the field to get the treasure. The other is a seeker of pearls, finds the Ultimate Pearl, sells all to get the one. That's the radical new governance Jesus offers to humble seekers/finders. For too long we Evangelicals have offered Jesus as "the Answer" without offering the Answer Jesus Himself brings with Himself: a new interior, transformative government from the inside out. We are hard-wired for the Kingdom of God, not our own kingdom or Satan's cruel rule. Ayeeeeeeeeeeeeee.