Freedom is Good News Part 194

There are many things that one can seek in this life.  There is the immediate search when you’ve lost your car keys and you seek for them until you find them – search over!  Then there is the lengthy search of seeking to become proficient at playing the piano.  For many years you will take lessons and you will practice for days on end until you are satisfied with you musical capabilities with the piano.

There are intermediate searches also: you need a new car and so you do your research on the new or used models you prefer and it’s time to take your homework to the dealership to seek an agreement for the best price for the car you have selected.

There is also a lifelong search: in Matthew 6:28-34 Jesus tells a story concerning someone who is seeking out some new clothing and another who is seeking something to eat and drink.  He tells the crowd listening to Him that they should not worry about such things; God knows that we need them.  The point to His story is told to us in verses 33 and 34, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is to be our first order of business if we desire to follow the Son of God.  Wow!  This seems to be a tall order; how do we do this and where do we begin?  I’m glad you asked – let’s explore this because it is a many faceted concept.

First, Jesus is comforting those who may worry about such things as food, shelter and clothing.  His Father is more than equal to the task of providing the things we need.  We all may, at times, wonder where the next meal will come from.  But straight from His lips, which can only tell the truth, Jesus lets us know that we should be examining our hearts to see if we are sincere about our faith in God.  Are we really seeking God’s Kingdom?  Again I ask, what does it mean to seek His kingdom and how do we do it?

There is an interesting word in the Hebrew language (and yes, Jesus spoke Hebrew) it is “darash” and it literally means “to tread or trample”.  This word is translated “seek” about 90 times in the scriptures.  In Psalm 34:10 we find a fitting example for the discussion we are in, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”  The word “darash” is used here. 

We who live in Iowa know that sometimes we must tread through tall grass to get to a farm shed.  When we go there once we may turn around and see our path for we have disturbed the grass.  But tomorrow the wind has turned those blades about and the path we took is no longer seen.  However, if we go back and forth through that grass often, we will eventually trample it down and beat a new path to the shed. So it is with our seeking God and His kingdom.  It is not a onetime event; if we are serious about our commitment to Him we must seek Him daily.  Yes, one might say that we must beat a path to our God because that is how we seek His kingdom.  Don’t go away folks, there’s still more to come.