Matthew 6, 33 (Amplified version): “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all, His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”

Matthew 19, 29 (Amplified version): “And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name’s sake will receive many (even a hundred) times more and will inherit eternal life.”

So many times we find ourselves worrying about our lives and how things will be in the future. We are concern about our jobs, our children, our spouses, our next vacation, the next car or iPad we will buy to add to our collection, and so on. And so many times our life is only about seeking our own satisfaction to increase the feeling of happiness in us. But we have all experienced at a point in our lives that anything this world has to offer is passing away and the joy that we may gain from these material things and even from our personal achievements is not permanent. Moreover, seeking after these things can sometimes become a prison that we are not even aware of.

The other danger about being focused on our personal needs and desires is that we tend to forget about our real purpose in life. We become blind to the fact that many souls around us need Jesus and will go to hell if they don’t have a chance to hear the Gospel about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are called to spread the Word of God, evangelize and tell the world about the love of Jesus Christ the savior. We sometimes forget that our first calling is to win souls for Jesus and do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4, 5). I had the opportunity to go out today with a group of devoted sisters in Christ and we shared the Gospel with people in the streets as we passed out tracts. As we were out there telling people about Jesus, I felt a particular kind of joy in my heart and in my spirit. It was so overwhelming that I simply started singing and praising the Lord aloud. There is such a joy in sharing the Good News about Jesus and serving God. As we do that, we forget about our own needs and troubles and the lost souls around us become our priority in life.

The Bible teaches us that we can and should come to God in prayer when we have a need. And the Bible also tells us that before we ask Him anything, He already knows what we are going to say. As a matter of fact, He has already provided for us and made a way even before the need existed because He knows all things and He sees far in the future. But what happens so many times is that we are so focused on our personal needs that we forget about God’s need. God’s desire is for souls to be saved. We don’t want the death of Jesus on the cross to be in vain! It is God’s desire that no man should perish and that everyone will have eternal life. (1 Timothy 2, 4; 2 Peter 3, 9). But how will they know about God’s love and His purpose for their life if nobody speaks? The Bible declares in Romans 10, 14-15 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus promised that if we put Him at the first place in all our intentions, every other thing that we need to have a fulfilled life on earth will be added unto us. He is asking us to feed His sheep, to build His kingdom and to be mindful of heavenly things first, and He will take care of the rest concerning us.

It is a wonderful feeling to work in God’s kingdom and give Him the first place. There is always something to do in the kingdom of God because God has blessed every one of His children with talents and abilities. So there is actually no excuse for not giving ourselves completely and not being at our Father’s business. If we are busy in His kingdom, we will not lose our reward. Put Jesus first in everything you do and every other thing will be taken care of. If He is your all in all, if you are in love with Jesus and if He is still your first love, then you don’t need to worry about your life because He is in control. If we have received the light of Christ, let’s not keep it for ourselves but let’s share it with those that are still in darkness. mt