Made for More | The Kingdom of God

When Jesus invited people to follow him he often used Kingdom language to explain his mission and purpose. Most of the crowds who listened to him thought he was talking about establishing a geopolitical kingdom in defiance of the Roman Empire. But there were those who sensed that his movement was something far more significant.

What Jesus offered was a new identity as children of God, a spiritual family, a community of faith, living in a spiritual reality that can’t be seen in the natural. We are called into this eternal Kingdom, set apart to a divine purpose, given an inheritance that has more substance than anything this life can offer us. But it’s not easy to maintain an undivided heart in a society which measures our worth in purely material terms.

Ever since the Garden we’ve been seduced by the idea that what this world offers is more real, and more reliable, than God. That's why Jesus talks so much about our attitude to possessions and money. The Devil wants to stop us from discovering our true purpose, and the easiest way to do that is to keep us distracted by the worries of life. If we’re focused on, and anxious about, our money and possessions, then the Kingdom of God very quickly loses its substance and relevance. We find ourselves obsessed with our daily needs and wants. But we were made for more.

The Treasure Of The Kingdom

A couple of Jesus’ parables help us to get a better perspective. Jesus said that his Kingdom is like a ‘Hidden Treasure’ in a field. In a world before modern banking people would sometimes hide their wealth by burying it on their property. Apparently it wasn’t uncommon for people to discover forgotten treasure and whoever owned the land owned the treasure. So if you purchased the land the treasure became yours. It didn’t matter how much it would cost to buy the land, it was worth it, because you’d end up wealthy.

Jesus’ point is that the Kingdom of God is of far greater value than anything this world can offer. And his parable about ‘The Pearl of Great Price’ reinforces the same idea. If you were a pearl collector and you found the most valuable pearl ever discovered, you would gladly sell everything else, so you could own it.

According to Jesus our problem is not that we value our money and possessions too much, it’s that we value the Kingdom too little. When we see the immeasurable worth of what we have been given, the riches of God’s grace and goodness, the beauty of the life we have in Jesus, the joy and hope that we’ve inherited, His presence and provision… when we see them clearly, we’re able to get the worries of life in perspective.

Seek First The Kingdom

This world tells us that we need to pursue wealth creation and financial security. But if we seek them first we’ll end up with a heart that’s hardened to the things of the Kingdom. To seek first the Kingdom is to recognise that God values people far more than stuff. To seek first the Kingdom is to be moved with compassion for those who have never heard about God’s love. To seek first the Kingdom is to pray confidently, inviting God to break into circumstances we can’t control. To seek first the Kingdom is to use what we own to bless others, to cultivate generosity. To seek first the Kingdom is to hold our wealth and possessions loosely, letting God use them how he wants.

Materialism is entirely incompatible with the Kingdom of God. The devil wants to reduce you down to being nothing more than a consumer, obsessed with what you earn and what you own. But you were made for more. You have the capacity to be friends with God. You have the ministry of sharing God’s love with a world trapped in darkness. You are called to be God’s non-anxious presence in this broken world. Discovering our purpose begins with seeking first the Kingdom of God.

Reflection Questions

1. What are the things that I worry about most? Maybe write a list…
2. How could trusting God change the way I approach those things?
3. What aspect of ‘seeking first the Kingdom’ do I want to grow in?