Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.
Jesus, Matthew 6:33
Sometimes when I hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the Kingdom,” it discourages me. For, of course, though I want to live that way—Kingdom first, start to finish—I don’t. It’s my heart, but it’s not my life. And who doesn’t get discouraged when confronted with the gap between our holy aspirations and our actual decisions? It can be debilitating: “Why even try!? Why even bother!? If I can’t be a success, I’m not even going to start.”
Then here comes Zechariah 4:10.Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.
Do Not Despise These Small Beginnings.
Whereas previous generations of Christians would assess churches by their faithfulness to the Word and to the Doctrine (e.g. Ti 1:9; Isa 8:20), now they tend to assess churches by their size. If a church is growing, if a ministry is big, surely that means God is blessing it? If a church is small, if a ministry is struggling, surely this means they aren’t being faithful?
And so for Christian lives too: How many have you led to the Lord lately? How much have you given? How many groups do you volunteer in? How many Bible studies do you attend or lead? What's your influence, your impact? Are you really doing, giving, going, serving enough? It’s a more-much-go-go! assessment tool.
But most Christians worship in small churches. And none of us live reality-TV lifestyles. Whatever we set out to do is going to be a small beginning. So in this culture it’s hard not to feel despise-able (i.e. despicable) if you’re not a part of something hot, fresh, new, and big. The culture’s god is the god of the hot, fresh, new, and, most importantly, large.
But the Kingdom of God, Jesus said, is like a mustard seed—smallest of the seeds. (Mat 13:31)
For The LORD Rejoices to See the Work Begin.
Are we content being “mustard farmers”? We should be. Zechariah says we are to honor small starts, tiny seedling efforts, “For the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.”
Did you catch that? The LORD rejoices! Do you want to put a smile on God’s face? Begin.
Something small, something seemingly insignificant. Begin.
Seeking the Kingdom doesn’t mean praying over territories, planting 10,000 “churches,” planning large, aggressive goals for arbitrary dates (“2040 disciples by 2040”).
It means, plant a mustard seed.
I almost wonder if Zechariah would say that God’s attitude is the opposite of what we imagine: God sitting in the International Space Station where He can see only the big things. God, like us, wants to watch big things happen on His big screen.
But no, Zechariah says, God delights in small beginnings, that moment when we start to try something. I wonder if God gives special attention to our small stuff, if He prefers it, if He rejoices at it.
For The LORD Rejoices… to See the Plumbline in Zerubbabel’s Hand
Zerubbabel, governor of a hodge-podge group of exiles recently returned from Babylon, was tasked with building the Temple, renewing Israel around the worship of the LORD. He was, like us, called to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Here’s this image: Zerubbabel standing with a plumb line beside the first footings of the Temple. He’s checking the beginnings of the build; he’s careful about the beginning of the work.
Seek first the Kingdom of God. Pull your mucker boots on, make a list and a sketch, throw a shovel in the wheelbarrow. Put a smile on the LORD’s face.
Maybe that means restoring your spiritual health. Maybe that means committing to praying with your family or working on a Scripture memory plan at home. Maybe that means serving in, supporting, or starting a ministry in connection with your church. Maybe that means go back to school, or get mentored. Maybe it means start a non-profit, or a for-profit, to serve the community. Maybe it means give to a special project, or to a specific need.
And maybe it means your project stays small. Jesus doesn’t say, “Go big or go home,” but, “Seek My Kingdom.” Paul later explains, “we plant and water, but the Lord gives the increase.” He’s the Master; He’s got the Master Plan. What we've got? We've got the work.
What we long for is disciples made, disciples making disciples, disciples mature. And we can all be involved. (And get this: us being involved means the Lord has given the increase! Cf. Mat 9:38)
Don’t despise small beginnings. Jesus loves fresh blisters.
