I want to become a child of God but I have no qualification to approach him. He is holy and I am sinful. In order to receive God’s blessing I need a perfect righteousness, wholesome life, but I don’t have it. The Saviour says his righteousness is here to be received. I have none of my own. I take this. We often read of the righteousness of God. This is the Lord Jesus who came to suffer and die for our sins and also to offer up his righteousness on our behalf. I go to the Saviour and put my trust in him.
We seek its righteousness because it is a kingdom built upon righteousness (Psalm 89:14). We cannot belong to such a kingdom unless we are of the same character as that kingdom. We must he changed as the King works his character in each one of us, his subjects. Our choices are influenced by what we perceive to be our highest good. Often it will be a matter of choosing between his earthly interests or his spiritual interests: God will providentially set these two things over against each other, forcing us to choose between two different kingdoms, and two different value systems. Choosing first the kingdom of heaven will not always involve denying ourselves earthly good, but it will frequently do so. When it does, we accept the apparent disadvantage that comes from this choice and leave God to make good any loss we suffer. We seek his interests more than our own, and in preference to our own. We pray and study his word at the appointed time each day rather than seek our own earthly interests. We set aside his day for worship and spiritual exercises, rather than following our own entertainment. We do business with integrity when we could perhaps advance ourselves further by abandoning godly principles. We care more for the needs of others than for our own needs. We seek God’s kingdom, not intermittently, reluctantly, or half-heartedly, but enthusiastically, constantly, with all our hearts. This seeking is to come from a real love for the King, our Lord Jesus Christ, and a desire for his glory.
By putting this first, we protect ourselves from the evil effects of worldliness and covetousness. This is the safest guiding principle of life. We may even neglect our own interests to an extent if necessary in order to give attention to the kingdom of heaven. At times Christ and his disciples did not even have time to eat, because of their business in the work of spreading the gospel, causing his family notice.
God takes thought for our needs when we take thought for his cause. The promise that God will supply our needs because he knows perfectly well what they are. He will give us what he, as our perfectly wise heavenly Father, knows that it is safe and good to give us. That will not necessarily be what we would have given ourselves, but it will be best for us.
Christ’s approach is one of surprise, to clear out error, through disassociation from the false religious establishment, to open up the heart, and speak of spiritual realities. People would turn out to hear him and maybe ask themselves, ‘Whatever is he going to say today? What blockbuster of a remark? He always puts things in such an interesting way.’ But we can do it too. We are taught from the Bible sentiments which will make the worldly hearer sit up and take notice. The Lord taught in the religious nation and had this effect, how much more can we speaking to a secular age! People just had to listen to very uncomfortable things, but couldn’t stop listening because they were put in such an interesting way. Some of the things you need to say will bore people, because they are ready to be bored by anything religious, so you have got to work in illustrations, even use the Lord’s illustration. They will want to hear the end and then they have learned the point.
What do people think of you? That you are religious therefore some sort of naïve goody-goody full, believe in goodness of man. They know better than that. Actually they believe much more in goodness of man than we do. But they think we are optimistic. Actually one Archbishop of Canterbury had a common catchphrase – ‘Christians are optimistic about people.’ He would say it again and again. Christianity is really very gloomy about human nature. It is a wonderful opportunity to use surprise. Mouths will drop open if you can think of pleasant but terse way of saying it. ‘You believe world will get better and better, solve all its problems; Christians say this is naïve – the opposite is the case.’
People think that all religions boil down to this: if I live a good life, God will be pleased with me. Who are Christians? Holier than thou people? ‘I may not go to church but I am a good person.’ They are saying that they think Christians think they are better than anyone else, but no, the Christian is someone who realises how bad he is, hopeless, in need of a Saviour. Even that is an eye-opener. That we think so low of ourselves, when they thought we were proud and stuffy.