"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6: 33)
Everyone likes the idea of focusing on one thing, and then everything else will be taken care of in our lives.
Yet the promise seems to be either too good to be true, or too unclear to be reliable.
First of all, let us not forget that Jesus preached this to his fellow Jewish people while the Old Covenant was still in effect. When Jesus died on the Cross, the New Covenant was enacted.
About the shedding of blood and the New Covenant, this is what Jesus said:
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins." (Matthew 26: 28)
This righteousness that Jesus exhorts His hearers to seek, turns out to be a gift which He offers and we receive:
"31But rather seek ye the
kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32Fear
not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom." (Luke 12: 31-32)
This righteousness was granted to us because Jesus Christ became sin at the Cross (2 Corinthians 5: 21), and so instead of striving for it, we receive it on an ongoing basis (Romans 5: 17)
Because Jesus died on the Cross, we no longer need to seek this righteousness, but receive it.
Yet why did Jesus make righteousness the top priority, with everything else added afterward? The elements of the New Covenant will explain:
"10For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not
teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:
for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I
remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
First, God will be able to write His laws of life, love, and liberty in our hearts and minds, and thus He can lead us from within without our striving and guessing. Next, He will be "a God" to us, which means that He will take care of EVERYTHING for us. We no longer need to worry about our tomorrows, our yesterdays, the challenges of the present, the frustrations within our flesh, or the problem-people who press against us. Even better, we will not have to go through steps or persons or institutions to "know Him" for everyone will know Him. The clause, the element that makes all of this come to pass: God will provide a propitiation for our unrighteousness, our sins and iniquities -- (1 John 4: 10) -- and so He will not remember our sins against us ever again.
In other words, God provides the gift of righteousness through the death of His Son on the Cross. When we receive that all of our sins are forgiven and never to brought up again, then all the other things that we need, because He will be a God to us, are provided for us.
Receive this gift of righteousness, Beloved, and the rest of the New Covenant will be enforced for you.
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