“Seek ye first…the kingdom of God…AND…His righteousness…” – Jesus (Matt. 6:33)

“My kingdom is not of this world…My kingdom is not of this realm.” – Jesus (John 18:36)

“Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.” – Paul (Col. 3:2)

“As obedient children…be holy in all your conduct…as you live the rest of your lives throughout the time of your stay here in fear…” – Peter (1 Pet. 1:14-17)

Can we look at Peter’s statement there, first? I’ve mentioned this in times past, and it bears worth repeating again. His reference as to how we should be living our lives ‘during the time of our stay here’…always strikes a chord with me. It is usually when I am traveling out of town…or out of the country…that I hear that phrase spoken, usually at the front desk of the hotel I am staying in…”We hope you enjoy the time of your stay here”.

The message is always clear: We know you don’t live here permanently and are just passing through…but it the mean time...we hope you enjoy and make the most of your time while visiting us.” I heard a similar statement made just the other day when we checked in to our hotel down here in Southern Cal where…yes, we are staying with the kids for their first ever visit to Disneyland.

Would you take a moment and give that one some thought…and try to draw a parallel with how we are to see ourselves as ‘sojourners’ passing through this world. If you go to visit Italy or Australia or Disneyland, the last thing on your mind is getting involved with the local politics of that area. Obviously you will respect and honor the laws of that country while visiting, but your purpose for being there is to either relax and have fun, or take care of business if it’s a work related visit.

Now you can claim ‘dual citizenship’ if you like, but scripture reminds us that our ‘citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil. 3:20).

Even at a young age…Jesus was aware of the need to be ‘about the Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49). But later on in His life, He was adamant to remind us that it is those who are ‘doing the will of the Father’…who will enter into His kingdom. (Matt. 7:21). And then, at the close of His three years of ministry…Jesus makes it known that His kingdom…”is not of this world” (John 18:36).

During His ‘sermon on the mount’…Jesus acknowledges that we do have earthly ‘needs’, and that the Father is keenly aware of them (Matt. 6:31-32). But look what we are encouraged to ‘seek first’ – Not only God’s kingdom…but also ‘His righteousness’ (33).

Have you ever given much thought to what ‘His righteousness’ is…or entails? I’m sure somewhere along the way, you were taught (rightly so) that “there is none who are righteous”…and that ‘our righteousness is like filthy rags’. No argument from me there, given that is what our Bible teaches.

But then you probably also heard that Jesus was the only ‘sinless’ man who ever lived (which He was)…and that He was the only one to ‘fulfill God’s law’, and therefore declared ‘righteous’. So therefore, if we simply ‘put our trust in Him’…we too…would be seen or counted as ‘righteous’…because we put our faith in Him . And this is where it can get …confusing. It is easy to take a handful of verses from the Bible and make that case, admittedly. But there are ‘other verses’ as well that bring more understanding to this.

I’ve used the analogy before , but imagine if you were in a college class and had to pass the final exam in order to pass the course…and yet every single student but one… failed it; you’d be in a pickle. But suppose the professor, in an act of kindness…made it known that if you would just join up and become friends with the one student who did pass it, and not only passed it, but scored a perfect 100% on it…then you too would receive a passing grade… how grand would that be? And to make it more interesting…that one student happened to be the son of the professor. This seems to be how many sincere Christians think being ‘saved by faith’ works. – “Just accept Jesus and all is good”, as in...'you pass'.

But what if the intention of the professor was for you to start coming over and spending time with his son where you could be tutored…because you were going to have to pass this test…just as his son did. Would that not change up the ‘agreement’ some? Yes…Jesus did indeed ‘fulfill the law’ (Matt. 5:17)…since the law was not going to be abolished. And everyone who does come to Him…and begins to follow His leading and doing what He says…they too…will end up ‘passing the exam’…by fulfilling the law themselves…because now it will be His Spirit working IN us in order to accomplish what scripture has declared: “For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13). And what are we told happens in those who ‘walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh’…as mentioned in Romans 8:4? (Go look, I’ll wait for you here).

Yesterday, as we spent much of the day walking through this famous park in Anaheim, I was struck by the reminder that this place is known as the ‘magical kingdom’…and ‘the happiest place on earth’. But this place is a ‘make-believe…kingdom’. And for all the smiles and laughter it has provided for millions of people of all ages over the decades…it is still a ‘temporal’ kingdom. When all these ‘visitors’ pack up and go home…they will return to the reality of their part of the world, wherever that may be. And still that world we all will return to is temporal. Many of them will begin planning their next vacation where they can find more laughter and entertainment and make more memories with their loved ones.

But the beauty of God’s eternal kingdom…is it is lasting and eternal, and is without end. Yes, we are enjoying the ‘time of our stay here’, but I don’t find myself preoccupied with the ‘nuts and bolts’ of how this park functions and thrives. And I sure don’t look to this place to make me ‘happy’, because I have already tapped in to God’s eternal kingdom, which is ‘not of this world’. If it’s lasting ‘happiness’ and contentment and peace that you seek, then you will find it in no other place outside of God’s kingdom, where Jesus still reigns as Lord of all. 

And one more thought, for now.  Yes, there is a pricey cost of admission to be here at this park, and all that goes with it.  But with God's eternal kingdom, I would be lying if I told you there was no 'cost'.  There is, and it is 'pricey'...but just a different kind of 'pricey cost', which is why Jesus told us we better stop and give it some consideration. (Luke 14:25-33) But more on that later.