Seek Ye First (Part 1)

"But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," (Matthew 6:33).

Most of us are familiar with this important verse uttered by our Lord, and we as Christians will certainly agree with the sentiments expressed. Have we ever stopped to think, however, of the force of Jesus' statement, and why we must seek His kingdom first? Why must we seek His kingdom first in our lives?

Seeking the Kingdom as a child of God. Why do we, as Christians, need to seek the Kingdom first? The Kingdom must be first because its ruler is the source of all blessings that we have received (Hosea 2:8, Ephesians 1:3). God created this world in which we inhabit, and made all of the plants and animals upon it (Genesis 1-2). God has given us life and all opportunity for happiness and contenment in this life (Genesis 1:26-27, Matthew 6:30-32). Of the greatest spiritual consequence, nevertheless, is the gift of God's Son on our behalf that we may have the remission of sin and association with both God and with one another (John 3:16, 1 John 1:1-3, Hebrews 10:25). Since God is the author and source of all of these blessings, it is only right and proper that we seek Him and His will first so as to continue to be blessed in life. We have gained nothing by the work of our own hands alone; all we have in some way is a gift from God.

Seeking the Kingdom as a husband or wife. When God joins a man and a woman together in marriage, a covenant is established that is to reflect the covenant made between God and mankind through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 5:25-33). The husband is to have a role in the household parallel to that of Christ and the church: he is its head, he nourishes and cherishes his wife, and gives himself up for her. Likewise, the wife is to have the role parallel to that of the church, submitting herself to her husband and following his leadership. This God-ordained system only works when God is the focus of both husband and wife, and both the husband and wife first seek God and His righteousness, and then, by necessity, the needs of one another.

Seeking the Kingdom as a father or mother. We read in Ephesians 6:4 that the father is to raise his children in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord"; when we think about this verse, we often think in terms of teaching by mouth, either through lecture or advice, and study of the Bible. These aspects of instruction are important and must be done, yet a major aspect of discipline and instruction of children is living the life of the Christian yourself. Your children learn far more by what you do than from what you say. If you say how important it is to be a Christian, and yet your actions do not reflect that of a Christian, they will see that it really is not that important to you. The only way for you to be able to truly instruct your child to seek His kingdom first is for you as the parent to seek first His kingdom.

Seeking the Kingdom as a worker. It is very easy to get discouraged as an employee, doing the same tasks over and over without any overarching purpose. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing one's work as futile and pointless since it may have little eternal consequence. We have been called upon, however, to work as for the Lord, and that by doing so we will gain the eternal reward of great significance (Ephesians 6:5-8). By keeping the Kingdom in view as primary, purpose in life can be found!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Scriptures to Consider

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, (Hebrews 12:4-11 ESV).

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2006 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!