I believe if you care about what God cares about, He will take care of what you care about.
This is quite an easy statement to say but a hard one to live by. We are told seek first the kingdom of God, and all its righteousness and all these things will be added to you. This is as true and plain as it is. No magic around it, no grey areas, no hidden meaning. If you focus on Kingdom business and give it your time, resources and all you got, God will watch out for you. He’ll cover your back. I’d rather have God cover my back than have my own crafted plans be the only cover I have.
Occasionally we get nudges telling us to engage in a Kingdom related issues, but the cares of this world distract us from it. We want to be assured of next meal, a roof over our head, how to take care of our future needs, etc. All these are great and necessary for living a happy life in this world. But if it’s all done at the expense of the kingdom of God, then it’s a waste of time - Like chasing after the wind. If we would choose to focus on Kingdom matters all the things we want, "ALL," will be added to us without any reservation. I have heard of stories of people who gave themselves to advancing the kingdom of God and God took care of the things that they cared about.
Image Credits: http://www.christiantruthcenter.com/focus-on-the-heavenly-the-earthly-will-be-added-unto-you/
What does it mean to focus on the Kingdom of God; to care about what God cares about? It’s about love for humanity. It’s about loving God with all your heart, soul and mind, loving your neighbor as you love yourself. God cares about the poor, the disenfranchised, people who are considered not to belong. God cares for the wellbeing of humanity.
A story is told of a Good Samaritan who was considered a good neighbor. He demonstrated what it means to love your neighbor as you love yourself. While the others we more concerned with getting to where they really thought they needed to be, the Good Samaritan cared about a fellow human being. He stopped to love on another person whom he didn't know, but he recognized the need at that point. Sometimes all it calls for is to stop and be there for others. Forget about what tomorrow could be and live on the moment, love on the people around you. Start where you find yourself.
As human beings we want to do great things, live a legacy to be remembered. Do something that counts. This sometimes makes us forget the most essential things in life; we ignore the value of humanity as we seek to do great things. We rush over matters that mean a lot to others because we are very much occupied with a faint idea of who we want to be or should be. Is it possible to do great things that show love on humanity?
In everything we find ourselves to do, it’s possible to care about what God cares about. I spent eight years of my life mentoring young men in the slums of Kawangware Gatina. This was something I did with all my heart. My wife can attest to the fact that there were days I would literally break my back to make sure these young men got what they needed. This project which was closed in 2016 also used to make paper gift bags. The young men at no given point saw the connection between the bags they were making and loving their clients. Most cases, they didn't even know these clients so how were they to love them. One thing I kept challenging them is to make the bags as if they were to present them to themselves. Now, this was a challenge because most of them had no much regard for themselves. We could have conversations around dignity, self-worth, loving self, respect for self, holding self in high esteem. We made some progress in this as it became clear to them that at any given point if the bags were not made with love for the client, they would be brought back, and they had to do double work. Either way, they appreciated that they had to make the client happy and they will also be happy. That's another way of showing love to someone else, so you experience love in your heart.
Whatever the case, if these young men could relate making bags with loving clients, I believe no one is excluded. No one has an excuse that in their engagement there is no way to love the neighbor. It’s not only limited to your money, though this is also important, it’s also in everything you do. In every occupation, it’s possible to care about what God cares about.
If this resonates with you, seek to care about what God cares about. Look for a small community of friends who you can learn to do this together with. Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It’s about building a community of friends to share each other’s efforts to focus on Kingdom related issues. You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.
Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…
By Gabriel Achayo.
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