In All Things

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

— Matthew 8:33 (KJV)

Seek or search can mean “to get to the bottom of the matter”. Jesus is telling us to seek, turn towards, learn about, inquire of, regarding the Kingdom of God. Really, the point of all things is the Kingdom of God.

This, then, brings up the question of “what is the Kingdom of God?”. It may seem vague and yet it’s a phrase very familiar to many of us. 

In the Bible, we see two frequent phrases, especially, in the Gospels. There is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. Some would say the two are interchangeable and to a degree they may be, but the Holy Spirit is deliberate and intentional. These are not chosen at random.

The Kingdom of God is a realm. When you speak of a kingdom, you are speaking of a place that has a king, where the king or queen has dominion. It’s their sphere of ownership, the realm of their rule. So, if you are talking about the Kingdom of God, you are speaking of the realm where God rules. You are speaking of His KIngship and Lordship. The Kingdom of God is where God rules and reigns, where He is Lord.

The Kingdom of Heaven is all that is within the Kingdom of God, all of its resources. These resources in the Kingdom of God are freely given to us as citizens of the realm of the Kingdom of God.

We are to “seek first the Kingdom of God . . .” We are to make true the Kingdom of God in our lives in ALL things, at ALL times. This is not just a one time thing. It is ongoing, everyday and every moment. Life happens minute by minute and in each second, we are to choose His Lordship. We are to deliberately make Him the Lord of that moment, not allowing the feelings, the circumstances, the thoughts in our head, the words echoing around us or the emotions to rule us, but we are to make Jesus LORD. 

The Young’s translation says, “but seek ye first the reign of God . . .” This means being deliberate to make Him Lord. 

The words of Jesus to us are seek to make Him LORD of every area of our life, in every moment, in the heat of the moment, make the choice to give Him permission to be LORD of that moment of whatever is happening. 

“Do yourself a favor! Let Him IN.”