Friday I posted about not seeking a spouse, but what I didn’t mention is what one should seek. Jesus said, in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” I think most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the context; Jesus was teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) and telling people that they shouldn’t worry about what they should eat, or what they should wear, or the basic things of life. The important thing is not what one eats, or what one wears; it’s where one will spend eternity. How one lives will determine where one will spend eternity, but not how one handles the mundane things of life; it’s how one handles the things of life that are more important. If you put God first, then everything else falls into place.
God cares about us, and He will take care of us, if we let Him. If we worry so much about this or that, things that He’s planning on taking care of us for us, anyway, that we don’t get done the things that He wanted us to do, then what have we really accomplished? Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good, to them that are the called according to God’s purpose. There are many times when it doesn’t seem that way; we have problems all around us, and it seems that nothing is going right, and yet, the promise holds true. Whatever we actually need, God will take care of for us. Does that mean you should quit your job and go out evangelizing? No, God gave you that job, not only to help provide for yourself, but so that you can be a witness to the people that you work with (not a preacher, by the way, unless that really is your job title). Should you sell all that you have, and give it to the poor, the way Jesus told the rich young ruler? Only if Jesus really speaks to your heart and tells you so. But he told the young ruler… Yes, He did. IMHO, Jesus told the young ruler to sell his things because Jesus had come to the realization that this young man, although it says that he had great possessions, it wasn’t so much that he had great possessions; it was that those possessions had him. There was no way he could keep himself focused on God with all the stuff that he had, and he didn’t understand that they were just things (as evidenced by the fact that he went away sorrowful). That’s conjecture, of course, but I think it makes sense. The bottom line is that he had so many things that he wanted to have, that he wasn’t able to gain the things that he needed to have, even though God wanted to give those things to him.
Well, what if the thing that I need is a spouse? Well, my first question would be, do you need a spouse, or do you want a spouse? Tell you what, never mind, it doesn’t really matter. Here’s the thing: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” All these things. If you need a spouse, then that would be included in ‘All these things.’ If you don’t need one, then once God gives you whatever it is that you really need, you will probably realize that you don’t need a spouse, after all. Of course, if you go about seeking a spouse, then that makes it hard for God to give you a spouse. Does that sound crazy? it’s not; if we keep getting in the way when He’s trying to work, then we just make things more difficult. The Bible says to cast your cares upon Him, for He careth for you, but so many times, we cast our cares, and then snatch them right back, as though we’re afraid that He will make things worse. Why can’t we just trust God?
God cares about us, and He will take care of us, if we let Him. If we worry so much about this or that, things that He’s planning on taking care of us for us, anyway, that we don’t get done the things that He wanted us to do, then what have we really accomplished? Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good, to them that are the called according to God’s purpose. There are many times when it doesn’t seem that way; we have problems all around us, and it seems that nothing is going right, and yet, the promise holds true. Whatever we actually need, God will take care of for us. Does that mean you should quit your job and go out evangelizing? No, God gave you that job, not only to help provide for yourself, but so that you can be a witness to the people that you work with (not a preacher, by the way, unless that really is your job title). Should you sell all that you have, and give it to the poor, the way Jesus told the rich young ruler? Only if Jesus really speaks to your heart and tells you so. But he told the young ruler… Yes, He did. IMHO, Jesus told the young ruler to sell his things because Jesus had come to the realization that this young man, although it says that he had great possessions, it wasn’t so much that he had great possessions; it was that those possessions had him. There was no way he could keep himself focused on God with all the stuff that he had, and he didn’t understand that they were just things (as evidenced by the fact that he went away sorrowful). That’s conjecture, of course, but I think it makes sense. The bottom line is that he had so many things that he wanted to have, that he wasn’t able to gain the things that he needed to have, even though God wanted to give those things to him.
Well, what if the thing that I need is a spouse? Well, my first question would be, do you need a spouse, or do you want a spouse? Tell you what, never mind, it doesn’t really matter. Here’s the thing: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” All these things. If you need a spouse, then that would be included in ‘All these things.’ If you don’t need one, then once God gives you whatever it is that you really need, you will probably realize that you don’t need a spouse, after all. Of course, if you go about seeking a spouse, then that makes it hard for God to give you a spouse. Does that sound crazy? it’s not; if we keep getting in the way when He’s trying to work, then we just make things more difficult. The Bible says to cast your cares upon Him, for He careth for you, but so many times, we cast our cares, and then snatch them right back, as though we’re afraid that He will make things worse. Why can’t we just trust God?
update: I logged in this morning and spotted a typo in the title. In the title! That has been corrected.
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