Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness
And all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
The New Year is a time for new resolutions and a reordering of priorities. The Christian life is all about a priority, not priorities. Our only real priority in life is to seek first the Kingdom
of God and his righteousness. Our daily
response is repentance as God continues to restore us to his likeness. When we
embrace Christ as our only priority, it occasions repentance as a way of life
on the way to holiness. Repentance as a
way of life? How can that
be? The idea of repentance is a
180 degree turn. We turn not only from
sin, but from all the other priorities, distractions and attractions before
us. We turn not from the terrible, but from the 1,000 good things
that call to us. We turn to the one
thing that is most excellent knowing that everything else follows. Even the most mature saint walking in
holiness exercises repentance daily.
One of my living heroes of the faith is a friend in whom the
Holy Spirit resides. I admire him so much. One day I asked him a semi-ridiculous question. “Do you ever sin?” He laughed and said. “I sin daily.
When I was young, I struggled with sins of commission. Now, at the end of each day I think about the
day and confess my sins of omission. I
think about opportunities I missed to be loving, kind, and Christ like.” I then said, “So, what do you do about
that?” He replied, “Right away I repent,
ask forgiveness, and for the Lord’s help and guidance going forward. Then I get on with life.” Repentance for the mature Christian is the continual turning toward and faithful following of Christ. Repent for the Kingdom of God is near. And for a living saint like my friend, it is
nearer and nearer each day. The Kingdom
of God is within you. Make that your sole priority.
Ask and it will be given to you.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened
to you.
Matthew
7:7
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