The Kingdom First

The other day in life group we watched a video about seeking the kingdom first. After the video a lot of great discussion came up about what that really means. Like what is the kingdom, and how do we seek after it? The whole video really reminded me of a book I read by Mark Batterson this summer called Wild Goose Chase, and in the second chapter he basically said pursue a passion not a career. That hit me hard. The culture of not just America, but the world is career driven. I remember asking Sam this question "Do career dreams hinder kingdom dreams?"

"Here is the mistake so many of us make: we start out pursuing a passion and end up settling for a paycheck. So instead of making a life, all we do is make a living. And our deep-seated passions get buried beneath our day-today responsibilities. Don't get me wrong. You need to take care of your responsibilities. You need to pay your bills, take out the garbage, and plan for retirement. But your greatest responsibilty is pursuing God-ordained passions."

~Mark Batterson

Jesus in Matthew 6:31-33 tells us "Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." So what does seeking the kingdom mean? I feel like it means to pursue God-ordained passions, and having faith that will God will supply the rest. Granted this is much easier to talk about then to do, but that is where our faith comes in. Faith that we have a living God to act on our behalf.

I really struggled with this idea of pursuing a passion over a career for a while before coming to UF. It's scary. Our world wants us to place our security in our job and paycheck, but we are called to do the exact opposite. We are called to not be anxious about anything, and to pursue God and have faith that he will provide.

We have to humble ourselves to God and to his will. In Ephesians 5:17 Pauls says "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Even Jesus prayed for God's will. That blows my mind. Jesus who was in form God prayed for the will of the Father. In Matthew right before he is betrayed 26:42 he prays "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." God's will be done. If Jesus prayed that gave me a huge hint that I should probably be praying and seeking after that in my life.

Before Mark Betterson talks about settling on a paycheck he says this, "No one was more passionate about life than Jesus. In fact, the final chapter of His life is appropriately referred to as the Passion. And we are called to follow in His footsteps. Christ followers ought to be the most passionate people on the planet."

So do career dreams hinder kingdom dreams? That is something you have to answer on your own, by getting in the word and spending time with God. For me it has resulted in a shift of focusing on what I think my life should look like to what does God want my life to look like. Life is short. Are we pursuing the kingdom? Are we pursuing God ordained passions? Jesus made this pretty clear that it was not optional. In James 4:13-17 James talks specifically about this questions. He relates our life to mist. Here for a second and then gone. Seek the kingdom first.

In Matthew 20 Jesus tells a parable about Laborers in the Vineyard. It's so uplifting after a message like this that can turn your life upside down. I'm just going to summarize it, but I really recommend reading it. All the laborers who worked in the vineyard that day whether they came in at early or late recieved the same pay. Whether we have a lived a lot of life or just a little Jesus is telling us it doesn't matter. The kingdom of heaven is here we just have to seek after it.