March 13 Day 8
Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
REFLECTION
On day six, we considered John 16:33 and the “tribulations” we encounter as we pass through this world on our way home. Matthew shares Jesus’ teaching on the source of many of those trouble and sufferings: anxiety over having enough…of what we need and what we want (Matthew 6:25-33). Those anxieties become priorities, consuming out thoughts, our time, and our energy, reducing our commitment to God to a Sunday service, some money in the offering, and (hopefully) occasional prayer and scripture reading.
When we experience metanoia, we are confronted by the counterfeit happiness of “having” and we become aware, perhaps for the first time, perhaps for the thousandth, that our “being” and our “faith” are sources of peace and joy that possessions or other idols can never produce. That is when we turn back to God, the source of all good things, and fix our desires on a right relationship with our Creator and with other people.
PRAYER: Lord, you have revealed through your Word and your Son, that there are two ways to move through this world: in fear or in faith. Open our eyes to the traps and temptations of worldly achievement for selfish purposes and then reshape our hearts to seek the will of God first, and his righteousness, serving God and our neighbor following the perfect pattern of our Lord Jesus. AMEN
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