I was helping our dog, Kenza, find her ball. She’s pretty good at losing it. And then she whines until we find it for her. Although it can be almost anywhere, most often it ends up under the sofa or under the bookcase or under the bed. She loves that ball. When she can’t find it—or more likely, can’t get to it—little else matters until it’s back in her mouth.
But this one time I couldn’t find it. Kenza kept looking under a cabinet. But it wasn’t there. I even reached in to feel around for it. She was certain it was there, but it was not. So I had to look further, to search for it, to seek the lost treasure.
As I looked for the ball, this verse from Matthew came to my mind. I wondered if I were seeking God’s kingdom with same diligence that Kenza seeks her ball. Am I passionately pursuing God’s kingdom and his righteousness? Am I willing to set all else aside until I find it? Do I make that kind of searching and seeking a top priority in my life? Or do I simply add it to the long list of things I try to remember to do and hope that I don’t forget on any given day? I didn’t like my answers to those questions.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds His hearers, and us as well, that God’s desire is that we do not worry. He states that we run after all sorts of things that capture our hearts but fail to give our lives meaning or joy. He describes the lilies of the field and the birds of the air as creatures with far fewer worries than I have. Then he reminds all of us that if we seek God’s kingdom first, making it the number one priority of our pursuits and desires, all the other things will fall into place.
Kenza’s ball miraculously showed up a few minutes later behind a piece of furniture next to the cabinet. How it got there I’ll never know. But I’m glad I found it. Now I want to turn my attention and energy to seeking something far, far more important.