Seek Ye First…..

 

Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

***

Life’s briefness has been heavily on my mind lately….

While standing in line at the grocery store we may sometimes feel like “it takes forever”, but when we really contemplate the matter these and other moments pass by us quickly. This has truly been impressed upon me recently when I got notified that a dear friend of mine passed away in January. “But how can that be?” I thought to myself as my mind struggled to believe the truth of it. 

I visited his Facebook page and read the condolences and well wishes directed toward his family. I reminisced on my time as his student years ago, twenty years…has it really been THAT long ago??? He often placed “likes” on many of my Facebook posts but he will never interact with me on social media again…no more corny jokes, no more sharing of inspirational quotes and scripture verses. 

My conversations with him now will be one sided, from me to the memory of him, of things I would still like to share with him, enjoy with him, to hear his point of view …silence…

The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible mentions the fleetingness of our mortal existence here. It points out how meaningless life is unless we see the bigger picture with  the Lord included in it. If our lives are empty of God’s grace and mercy what would be the point of living at all?…. if it all ends in nothingness? What would be the point of struggling through life, working and toiling to attempt at making a fortune… or perhaps even just to strive at paying the bills on time… until one day comes death and then ….

…nothing….

Is that all there really is???

But Jesus said there is much more than what we see here, and that the Kingdom of God is very near to each one of us. He told many parables of what that Kingdom of heaven is like and to desire it more than all the riches of earth.

He said “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (temporary fleeting things) shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. 

But if we only seek after the temporary things which are here today and gone tomorrow, we will end up with nothing, because the truth is we cannot take any of those things with us when we leave this world. 

So seek the thing that will be with you even after time on earth has come to completion for you, what Jesus died to share with you. Seek His mercy and His grace while you still have time and He will give it to you free of charge, already paid for with His own blood. Don’t waste another minute of the time that is fleeting, chasing after the wind. 

Hear His voice calling you, 

answer His call to you,

bask in His mercy and His love for you….

Life will still be hard, but it will have infinite meaning.

Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

1Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.