The Time of Your Life - part 4

Seeking the Kingdom

By T. M. Moore | Published Date: January 04, 2013

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

~ The King’s business

Since, as we have seen, the Lord Jesus grants us the time of our lives for the purpose of augmenting, improving, and expanding His rule on earth as it is in heaven, we do well to take His command about seeking the Kingdom into every area of our lives. We are making the most of the time of our lives when we are using every moment of it on the King’s business, devoting ourselves to the progress of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit as our overarching framework for life (Rom. 14:17, 18).

The better we understand and the more consistent we are able to be in practicing the Kingship of Jesus and in seeking His Kingdom, the better use we will make of the time of our lives in bringing glory and honor to the Lord.

~ Knowing the Lord

Seeking the Kingdom means preparing and growing and living in such a way as to experience and express the reality of Christ’s rule in every area of our lives. This requires, in the first place, that we maintain a vibrant and fruitful relationship with the Lord of the Kingdom Himself. Peter commands us to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we encounter Him in His glory through the various disciplines He has provided (2 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:12-18). We cannot expect to have much success in advancing the rule of Christ if we do not know the Lord well enough to understand how He would have us to use the time of our lives for His honor and glory. The paltry spiritual life that characterizes many professing Christians will keep them from making the most of the time of their lives for the Lord, for the simple reason that their relationship with Him is not as deep and vibrant as it should be.

The Kingdom of God, that reign of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, comes to expression in our lives through the various relationships, roles, and responsibilities in which we engage each day. Thus, the more mindful we are about these, the better we prepare for each and the more attentive and diligent we are in conducting them, the greater will be the likelihood that what we are learning about Christ and His Kingdom will become visible in our time at work, our conversations and relationships with others, and the various cultural activities of our lives.

~ Making disciples

We also seek the Kingdom of God when we are involved in the work of making disciples and building the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). The Church is the agent of the Kingdom, brokering its grace and truth to the world through the lives and ministries of faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Each of us is called to participate in the great work of making disciples, bearing witness for Christ; using our time with others to encourage, instruct, and assist them in knowing the Lord and growing in Him; and joining with other disciples to carry out the various works of ministry that build up the local community of believers in unity and maturity (Eph. 4:1-16). Making disciples is not the calling of pastors alone. Jesus expects all His subjects to be actively involved in this great work. Similarly, each of us has unique gifts and opportunities for ministering to others, and we must be faithful stewards of these as the Lord leads us day by day (1 Pet. 4:10, 11; 1 Cor. 4:1, 2).

When we are seeking the Kingdom of God in these ways – growing in the Lord, doing His work in all our work and cultural activities, and making disciples and building His Church – we will be making the best possible use of the time entrusted to us by the Lord, and we can expect a return on our investment that brings honor and glory to Christ and the blessings of peace to those around us.

- This study by T.M. Moore, and others like it, is made available at ColsonCenter.org.