Matthew 6:24-34 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 6:24-34 on biblegateway.com
Verse 24"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Verse 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Verse 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Verse 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? Verse 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, Verse 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Verse 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? Verse 31Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' Verse 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Verse 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Verse 34"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Devotion
January 6, Epiphany, began as we observed the wise men from the East’s visit that signifies the revelation of Christ to all nations. The following Sunday, we celebrated Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist who had boldly proclaimed, “…the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 3:2). Now, we conclude Epiphany with the words, “But strive first for the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33). We live in the kingdom now while seeking the kingdom to come fully.
Envision the kingdom of God. What do you imagine? Pearly gates? Golden streets? Beautiful gardens? Whatever your image, do you see some people vivaciously living in mansions and sumptuously feasting while other people merely subsist homeless, hungry and ill? I suspect not. Through Christ’s birth, ministry, death and resurrection, God’s kingdom came to all nations and all people. How will you, will we, strive for the kingdom now with abundance enough for all?
Prayer
Lord of All, thank you for bringing the kingdom to us now and giving us hope for the kingdom yet to come. Pardon us when we fail to strive first to do your will. Show us how to live so all your children experience your kingdom’s abundance now. Amen.