The Kingdom of God consists of people who are eager to see the rule of the King established and expanded in their sphere of influence.
The hallmark of subjects of the Kingdom is their total reliance on the King. This reliance is there because there’s an acknowledgement of poverty without the King for He is the source of everything. He is the source of everything in the natural as well as everything in the spiritual. The King outlined already that nature was attended to with great care, splendour and beauty by the Creator and yet He cared for humanity even more than nature. That is the basis to not be anxious for the perceived basic necessities of food, drink and shelter. In that reassurance, the King made it clear what should be the preoccupation of subjects of the Kingdom.
It’s in the context of this instruction that the King now states clearly that it’s important for subjects in the Kingdom to make the practice of asking, seeking and knocking. The instruction here is not a general ask, seek and knock about any flight of fancy or whim. Neither is it the green light to go looking for self-indulgent and self-absorbed issues.
Kingdom minded people, pursuing the righteousness of the Kingdom are now commanded, instructed and encouraged to keep on asking the King, keep on seeking the King and keep on knocking the door of opportunity for access to all that King has in store for those who eagerly desire Him.
What does that mean in day to day life? How does that affect decision-making on running issues of life? What does that have to do with the marriage problems, the children issues, the financial challenges, the job struggles and getting to grips with the ever changing circumstances?
The answer to these questions say everything about how the King influences our lives. What is our heart’s desire? Does it have anything to do with the King or is it about ourselves? Indeed do we acknowledge Jesus as the King or do we like Him as Saviour, swooping in for the rescue when times get tough, but other than that we’d prefer for Him to be viewed as a convenience outlet?
Total dependence on the King and acknowledging the Kingdom character He outlines – humble, meek, merciful, pure in heart and a peacemaker – if these are the characteristics that are prominent and developing in our lives, then every day life is about how the peace of God can be experienced and shared with others. When that is the focus then the asking, seeking and knocking is an understandable instruction. We need His wisdom – we ask for it. We need His strength – we seek for it. We need His knowledge – we knock on in expectation of receiving this from the audience with the King.
We recognise we live in need of Him and we see that He offers us the opportunity to see those needs met and that comes through that humble act of asking the source to provide what we need to do right by Him and right for Him. He is not a convenience store for our selfish desires. He is the source from which our purpose flows and to which we refer to for direction and alignment. How we use our finances, how we engage in the relationships, how we make key decisions every day – these are all done in the light of the privilege we have of living in the Kingdom. The King is more than happy to be a part of our every day lives and how we engage in that is in the asking, seeking and knocking.
Despite this, though, we are still at liberty to choose something different. Will we prefer pursuing self-reliance believing we’re the centre of the universe? Will we opt to take matters into our hands, arrogantly and selfishly imposing our own desires and using that as the driving force for life? Will we turn our backs on the divine instruction and go for ongoing consumption of goods, products and services in the vain notion of achieving our best lives now?
Or will we hear, obey and teach others to observe what King Jesus says?
(Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 