Seek first the kingdom of God (Part Two)

Having looked at the Kingdom of God, we now ask what does it mean to seek it?

It means:

• Seek, in order to find and possess the kingdom of God (Matt. 13:45f). We present this finding of God’s kingdom as something to be valued and important to children; something to do first, while they are still young.
• Aspire to a holy character! The kingdom of God is, as we already know, in a class of its own. It is not a matter of eating and drinking (this would be the worldly way of life) but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). This is why the kingdom of God includes a very special lifestyle; a special seeking, desiring, striving. You desire that Christ establishes His throne of righteousness in you. You long for Him to transform your thoughts to His way of thinking so that doing His will may be your joy. You no longer seek earthly riches, but you strive to become spiritually rich and to possess the characteristics of this kingdom: joy and peace, righteousness, justice and mercy, humility and patience.
• Rejoice in the Kingdom of God! You have a good Shephard, even an advocate before the heavenly throne. You have the Word of God. You are allowd to serve Jesus and you have the promise of a wonderful inheritance. You are loved with a perfect love, have a meaningful life and belong to God and His kingdom. Stop complaining! Appreciate your privileges! Enjoy the King!

Make seeking the Kingdom of God your priority! Does this mean that you no longer care about a good education, your health or the things of everyday life? No, the request for our daily bread is also part of the Lord’s Prayer. But it is not the first request. The main concern of your life is to seek the Kingdom of God and to know and love its King!

Such seeking does not come naturally. We cannot produce it on our own. It is the Holy Spirit, who with new life, also creates in us new desires, new attitudes and inclinations, so that we are less and less attracted by the magnetic power of the world. If the Holy Spirit would stop influencing us, our pursuit of the Kingdom of God would cease. But the Holy Spirit does not give up His work!

And one more thing belongs to the pursuit of the Kingdom of God, namely to promote it. We, in CEF, do this among the children. John Piper and his church express their pursuit of proclaiming the kingdom among the children in this way: „It is a vision of our children

• stepping into adulthood grounded in the word of God,
• secure in their convictions with an unshakable faith that will weather the storms of life
• and will not yield to the “spirit of the age.”¹

It is a pity that today many seem to think that they are too busy to prepare the Bible lesson or memory verse thoroughly. Just before the meeting one skims through the text, quickly downloads something from the Internet, and already we stand before the children without a real goal or plan. Do we know what is at stake? Do we realize that we are neglecting the souls of the children entrusted to us? That we are leaving them unprotected to the spirit of this age? That we are shepherds who feed ourselves but not the flock (Ezekiel 34:8)? That we jeopardise the future of our churches and sacrifice on the altar of our own priorities what should be the main concern of our lives? – Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness!

¹ John Piper in a sermon on Mt 6:33.