Seek Him First

After thinking about it for a while, I find extraordinary comfort in knowing that, as children of the Most High, our primary calling is to be His, to love Him and to glorify Him with all we’ve got. There is something liberating about that. I don’t have to be all bent out of shape thinking I don’t have a purpose in life, for my purpose is as high as it gets: to be a daughter of the King of Kings! How glorious is that!

It is in fulfilling this chief purpose, where God meets us and discloses the collection of tasks that constitute our secondary calling(s). He will unfold the good works He has lined up for us as our lives move along the path that we walk to meet Our Lord. 

If we are confused as to what the specific good works God has particularly set aside for us are, perhaps it would help if we take it one step at a time. In taking the first step, He will be Faithful and guide any subsequent ones until the web of our mysterious calling is all untangled in front of our disbelieving eyes. 

What is that first step, though?

To seek Him first…to follow Him.

Matthew 10:38-42 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Matthew 6: 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

As we read in Jesus’ words above, we are to pick up our cross, die to ourselves, and, do what? …Follow Him…seek after Him, and then He will take care of the rest.

As we intentionally walk closer and closer to Christ, He will reveal the good works we need to do for His glory and the benefit of His beloved. When we follow Him, we begin to do, whatever we do, as if unto Him. (Colossians 3: 23) We do it always remembering to keep in the habit of meeting together with the body of believers. (Hebrews 10: 25) For it is there, at the place where we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ, that our ministry will develop and we’ll be able to tend His sheep. (John 21: 17) All these, always with Scripture written in our hearts as we consume a daily, generous portion of it in order to be more and more equipped. That’s when the revelation comes and we understand, and accept that…

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

And all of these, accomplished by and through and for Love, which is God Himself…for if we don’t have Love…if we don’t have God…we are bankrupt. (1 Corinthians 13)

Every good work derives from Him and from love. That is the divine circle that makes it possible to fulfill the greatest command, to love Him above all and love others as ourselves. (Matthew 22: 37, Mark 12: 30, Luke 10: 27)

Therefore, let’s not be troubled by the thought that we don’t have a clear purpose in life. If you are a child of God, your main, chief, primary end is to be a child of God, to love Him above all things/people, to seek Him, to follow Him, to give Him all glory. That’s all we have to worry about. The rest, He will take care of. He will shape us and equip us to be His Kingdom workers as He unfolds His plan for us along the way to meet Him. As His heirs, He will show us the trade.

Colossians 1:9-12 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15: 5