Christian Living

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I have been hearing bits and pieces lately referring to kingdom living from many different sources. This is coming on the heals of God dealing with me in my heart about purity. Somehow the two are tied together. Recently Mathew 6:33 has popped up in my memory. I wrote it down in my journal. Mathew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and these things will be given to you as well." This is said by Jesus in his sermon on the mount as he is addressing humanistic worries and worldly desires. The statement is not made in a context that points to after death but rather as a "to do" now, in this life. Seek his kingdom now. Seek his righteousness now. As you do the things you worry about will be taken care of.

So how does one seek the kingdom of God in this life? Going back to impurity... While studying impurity I came across Ephesians 5:5 which says, "for of this you can be sure no immoral, impure, or greedy person-such a man is an idolater- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God". What is the kingdom inheritance? For this answer I went back to my journal. I remembered something I wrote a while back about the spiritual gifts God is trying to give us if only we would quite running from the pain of life to idols. Idols are anything that has to do with immorality, impurity, or greed (see Eph 5:5). I am guilty of this.

Often instead of persevering through the pain of a situation I run to something or someone to ease the pain. That is not God's way. First of all, most of the time I have out and out created the painful situation, or it is an offshoot to something I have previously done which in turn creates a situation a little down the road. To say it bluntly, my sin causes my pain. Yes, there are times when it is completely the sin of someone else but more often than not I have something to do with it. There are also times something painful happens in life that is totally out of our control. However the pain comes, God uses it to discipline us.

God's discipline builds our character. Not only that but he has something heavenly in it for us too if we allow the process to unfold without seeking idols. In Hebrews chapter 12 you can read all about it but I found verses 10 & 11 speaking strongly to me. Hebrews 12:10-11 says, "...God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." The spiritual gift of going through with God, not idols, is holiness, peace, and righteousness. Wait a minute righteousness? Isn't that what we are supposed to be seeking to be kingdom living? Yes. How do we get it? By going through with God not idols.

So is kingdom living comfortable? Well, I don't have it down pat a hundred percent of the time. Truthfully, I'm not sure I am doing it even 50% of the time. But I do know when I am doing life God's way it is not usually comfortable, at first. It becomes comfortable. Even more so, it becomes desirable. There is a change inside that does not take place when I try to ease my way through the pain. When I continually use people, places, and things to ease my way through the pain of life I just seem to continue being a pin ball that bounces from one ding! ding! DING! to another. But when I dig in my heals and persevere through it holding on to Jesus all the way I move to a new place. I end up a little further ahead (mentally,emotionally, spiritually) than I was when it started. The pin ball thing is definitely more of a natural habit than clinging to Jesus is. That's why God tells us in Mathew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter though it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it." If I am living on a wide road there is a lot of room to bounce from side to side without moving forward into a deeper more intimate relationship with Jesus; but if I bring in the boundaries by getting rid of immorality,impurity, and greed then there is less room to bounce around. I am certain to either move forward with God or become very aware of the gutter I stepped back into. When Jesus tells us, "narrow is the road that leads to life" what life do you think he is talking about? I believe it is the kingdom life we can have here and now. It starts with him, continues in him, and leads to him. Amen!



Trecia is a homemaker and freelance writer. Her journey from the darkness into the light is a testimony of God’s mercy and grace. Trecia recognized much of her entanglements with substances stemmed from basic hurts of life. She now seeks to share her experience of healing in Jesus Christ with others. Trecia put her faith to action by creating a website which is a hub of information and resources to help people recover from the issues of life. More of her articles can be found at www.liferecoverymissions.com.

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