I read Matthew 6 yesterday. It’s cliche to say it, but sometimes you can read something you’ve read a bunch of times and suddenly see it differently; see a deeper theme you never pieced together before.
I saw the pattern, maybe for the first time. Jesus talks repeatedly about the motives we have for nearly everything “spiritual” we do (giving, praying, fasting) and what those motives should be. There’s that curious section around verse 22 referring to the good, healthy eye flooding us with light versus the bad eye flooding us with darkness. There’s the majestic ending full of encouragement and admonition against anxiety.
It is all one theme: be single minded and set our eyes on the Kingdom of God. Seek that and the rest is just details. We give
, we pray, we fast for the Kingdom of God, not for attention. When we pray we pray for the Kingdom of God to come to earth, for God’s will done here as it is in heaven. It’s not a long prayer because that’s a tight, straightforward outcome.
See the Kingdom clearly, have a “good eye”, and be flooded with light.
Invest in the Kingdom. Store your treasures there. Have faith, God will take care of you.
It’s so simple. It really is; simple yet so hard. It battles against those treasures on earth that scatter our vision: praise from others, caressing and feeding our worries, chasing the gold at the end of the rainbow. Earthly financial security. Work, work, work. The American Dream.
Jesus is calling us to the Kingdom Dream.
May I dream Kingdom dreams.