Seek

There is definitely a difference between the physical and the spiritual and I am becoming increasingly aware of how they need each other in order to assist in our growth. In the gospel of Matthew the sixth chapter Jesus talks about a number of things in his sermon. He mentions when you help others don’t sound a trumpet so as to draw attention to yourself and get praise from others for your good deeds. Among other things Jesus talks about offering your prayers in secret rather than on the street corner so not to get praise from those who observe your prayers. He mentions that fasting should also be done in secret. This and other subjects covered in this chapter seems to have a theme. A lot of what he talks about seems to have to do with the difference between what we do physically in order to get praise from others and what we do spiritually and in secret that may have a greater influence on the part of our lives and the lives of others that may not get that much attention.

As Jesus talks about our concerns regarding what we shall eat or what we shall wear, he mentions the grass of the field and how God clothes them. Then he opens up a secret place that many of us sort of overlook, I know I did. Jesus is recorded to have said in verse thirty-three, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.” Which brings us to the focus of this entry. In the gospel of Luke chapter seventeen Jesus is having a conversation with the Jewish Pharisees who demanded to know when the kingdom of God should come. Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.” In other words, it's not a physical thing. Jesus goes on to say, “neither shall they say, Lo here or, lo there for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”

Now this may be the first time you have heard this saying. What I hope to hold up for your consideration has to do with the whereabouts of the Kingdom of God. If it is true that God’s Kingdom is within us, then where would we have to go within us in order to find it? Again, this is not a physical thing. Allow me to offer the possibilities that await each of us when we make up our minds that we are going on a journey within ourselves in order to not only find the Kingdom of God but to experience it as well. Because this is not a physical venture per se, our physical bodies play an important role because it holds this treasure, called the Kingdom of God and once we discover it our physical bodies react to the discovery.

You will not know the awesome experience of this discovery unless you decide to go looking for it. You will not have to go alone. The Holy Spirit will guide you. So I urge you to enter your secret prayer closet spending time in meditation with the desire to enter the Kingdom of God that is within you. It has always been there and unless you decide to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, it will remain an undiscovered place. This place has the awesome power to change your everything but you won’t ever know unless you seek!