A few years back, I started a Podcast called Seeking the Kingdom, which was inspired by Matthew 6:33 (“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”).
My pride and conceit was an immediate issue with my pursuit of creating this podcast. In retrospect, I should have been attending Bible classes as a student instead of rushing in blindly as a teacher. To make matters worse, I very seldom put God first in my life, so what right did I have to even speak on the subject in the first place?
While I was a Christian between 2011 and 2019, I was often trapped in a sinful cycle and reaping the consequences - I was this selfish baby Christian who’s motivation was frequently, and selfishly, using my limited knowledge of the Bible to create a career for myself in writing, speaking, or influencing. With my limited understanding of the verse and a skewed motivation for the podcast, it's no surprise that my podcasting efforts were fruitless because I wasn't even abiding in Matthew 6:33.
While my intentions were unrighteous in many ways, I still had divine faith in Matthew 6:33. Even if I couldn’t explain the theology of it at the time or apply it to my life, I still knew it was true. Between then and now, I struggled in dying to my old self and stumbling in holiness with Christ and as my pursuits faded, I had enough sense to apply my faith to press forward as the young, naive Christian I was. Naturally, as I began to apply these words, God worked in my heart and my life, providing me with His Truth rather than the “truth” that I had summoned from my limited world experiences.
As the Truth was revealed to me, I realized just how much Scripture repeats this and how much we need to hear it: Seek God. Love Him with your whole heart. Devote your life to Him. Pick up your cross and follow Him.
These are words I knew and heard of, but the weight they carried did not affect me until I better understood Christ on Calvary. Even more, I know that it’s not something that I can even force other people to believe. Just as the words were once read to me fell onto deaf ears, they also fall onto the deaf ears to some who hear me quote it now.
Another favorite verse that comes to mind when I think of Seeking the Kingdom is in Matthew 22, when the Pharisees tested Jesus by asking Him what the greatest commandment was, He responded in verse 37 with “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This was said in reference to the Shema, which is Deuteronomy 6. The Shema is one of the most famous prayers in the Old Testament, which says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
Here are the Pharisees who are constantly trying to catch Jesus stumble over one of their questions, and Jesus recites off part of the Shema. The Shema was (and I believe it still is) an important part of the Jewish faith and culture, passing the message along from generation to generation: Love the Lord with your whole being, memorize it, hold it dear to your heart and soul, weave it into every part of your family’s life, find opportunities to repeat it over and over to your children so they one day can do the same in their own families.
While religions like Muslims or the Jewish faith sadly reject Jesus as their Savior, I do think there’s something to be said about a culture that successfully passes on the faith, which I feel is a long-lost art in the modern world. I admire this dedication of placing this on your family’s heart which stands strong for generations but it makes me ask myself, “Where are we Christians falling short for our families in engraining Him onto our children’s hearts?” Are we doing something wrong? Have we heard more preaching on the American Dream than of Christ on the Cross? Or perhaps it’s just me in my thoughts and where we live because I know there are communities that successfully pass on the craving for our Savior.
Other verses that come to mind on the pursuit of God include Hebrews 1, when Paul writes, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
If I knew I could hold your attention long enough, I would copy the entirety of Colossians 3 which is another favorite of mine, but for your sake I’ll only post the first few and urge you to read it all in your own time. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…”
A task which I’ve enjoyed greatly while studying Scripture is reading Biblical commentary on the verses or book, and I love what Charles Spurgeon says about Matthew 6:33:
“Seek God first, and the rest will follow in due course. As for “all these things”, you will not need to seek them, they will be thrown in as a matter of course. God who gives you heaven will not deny you your bread on the road thither. The kingdom of God, and the righteousness suitable to that kingdom - seek these first and foremost, and then all that you can possibly need shall be your portion. To promote the reign of Christ, and to practice righteousness, are but one object; and may that be the one aim of our lives! Let us spend life on the one thing, and it will be well spent: as for the twenty secondary objects, they will also be ours if we pursue the one thing only.”
Matthew Henry’s commentary rings a similar sentiment, “We must mind heaven as our end, and holiness as our way…Aim at the kingdom of heaven; press towards it; give diligence to make it sure…prefer heaven and heavenly blessings far before earth and earthly delights…Let all the concerns of this life be made subordinate to those of life to come: we must seek the things of Christ more than our own things; and if ever they come in competition, we must remember to which we are to give the preference.”
One of my favorite Christian female authors is Elisabeth Elliot who once said, “The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world.”
I have made it a point to write the moral of all of these quotes and verses onto my heart and into my mind. I have it written on notes, taped inside cabinets and my car and Bible: I cannot serve God AND the world. I cannot equally balance putting God AND my family first. It’s, “seek first the Kingdom”, because the important things will follow.
“Seek God first, and the rest will follow in due course.” -Charles Spurgeon
It’s because I seek God first that I can bite my tongue. It’s because I seek first that I can find the courage to speak up on wrong things. It’s because I put God first that I can find the energy and will to get through a bad day. By seeking Him first instead of seeking to self-gratify, it helped align my heart with His will and get excited about immersing myself in Scripture. Seeking Him first helps me parent better, helps me be a better wife, friend, neighbor, and sister. As one of God’s chosen people, clothing myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (a Colossians 3 reference) becomes an autopilot response.
None of this is to pridefully lie say that I don’t stumble. Oh boy, while I’d love to say that I’m singing hymns and praises daily, taking the time to pray and read the Bible every day, never sinning, never feeling jealous, never being impatient, never doubting, never have my stomach suddenly drop in anxiety over the looming fear of my ultimate Earthly death one day and wondering if my faith will be for nothing. The truth is that I am far from perfect and I’ll never pretend to be otherwise. I lean on His grace, mercy, and forgiveness daily because sinning comes more naturally to my flesh than righeousness, and I have to make very intentional decisions to keep my focus on Him every day.
While I do regretfully find myself skipping Bible time in exchange for an hour scrolling on social media, I still try to seek the Kingdom in my day. I still often ponder my faith and consider Christ through my every day life - while I’m washing dishes, driving the kids somewhere, dealing with a frustrating family member, standing in line at the grocery store, when I add yeast to warm water for homemade bread, when I put paint to a canvas or ink to paper. It’s in these simple things that I find and seek God. It’s in the blandest of days or most difficult moments where I find my heart and mind set on things above and wonder if my actions are placing Him onto the hearts of my loved ones.
It hasn’t always been this way, where I consistently think of and apply my love of the Lord to my life, and it’s certainly been a long sanctifying, ongoing process. I guess that’s what this Substack is all about - Seeking Him, Seeking His Kingdom, finding God in the goodness of the everyday, of dying to self, on Him becoming greater and I becoming less (John 3:30), on navigating being a Christian woman in the modern world, and pursuing imperfect parenting where I grasp for divine patience. I hope you join me in my pondering, thoughts, and studies as I seek the One who has offered me eternal life in an unimaginable Heavenly place.
Have a blessed Easter friends, and thank you for taking the time to read.
In His name,
Samantha Sali