Faith - Continued

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

And this brings us to the third verse - quoted above. “Faith” is not mentioned, but it is all about faith. “Seek ye first...” All our natural instincts cry out to us that we are to seek first our well-being, our physical needs, and those of our families. Service to the Lord is well and good, but only after we’ve seen to basic needs. Not so, answers our heavenly Father: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and then all these physical needs will be supplied.

We’re not talking about “heroes of the faith” here; nor are we speaking only about the youthful adventurers who have only themselves to look after. God put no such limitations in that passage. He was speaking to everyone, and saying in effect: “If you will commit yourself to meeting the needs of My Kingdom, I will commit myself to meeting your needs” - first commitment, based solely on faith; then God’s abundant response. This is the only way Matt. 6:33 can be properly understood, and it should be the bedrock on which committed Christians stand.

I like to call this level of faith “childlike faith.” It literally is the faith of a young child - old enough to be fully aware that there are bogey-men and dangers in the world, but young enough to rest easy in her mind, as long as her little hand is securely clasped by Daddy’s strong hand. She fears nothing, as long as her father is standing beside her. And we should know, to the depths of our souls, that we have nothing to fear as long as the Everlasting Arms support us - regardless of outward circumstances.