“Jesus told him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me‘” (John 14:6).

If I could use one word to describe Jesus today, it would be “refreshing.” There’s nothing stuffy or stale about Him. Jesus isn’t the Author of religion, but of relationship. In the beginning, God didn’t create Adam as an idol from dirt; He created a son. When Jesus came to earth, it was to seek and save that which was lost . . . our relationship with God. He reconciled man back to God, and then returned to heaven as the Son of God.

There are many people that want to view Jesus and Christianity as just another “religion.” Jesus tells us, in His own Words, that He has come that we might have life and enjoy it in abundance. Having said that, let’s look at a truth that might help you in your ongoing relationship with the Father. Although Jesus tells us that He is the Way, He doesn’t want us to stop at the door, rather He wants us to go through that door and discover life in Him. He gives us the key to the new life that is only found in Him in Matthew 6. He tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to us.

So if we want to know the Father more intimately and fully, then we’re not to seek religion; we are to seek the kingdom. You might be asking yourself, “How does seeking the kingdom first cause me to know God more?” If you will recall, Lucifer, which was Satan’s name before he fell, promoted himself to the place that was intended for only God. If we want to know God in the same way that Jesus does, then we must deny self and seek the kingdom first. YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE DISCOVERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD when you begin to live life the way that God originally intended us to live it. Kingdom refers to authority and dominion; if we will walk in authority in the spirit, then we will also have dominion in the natural realm as well. When we pursue a true relationship with the Father on the basis of seeking the kingdom first, we will discover freedom from the flesh nature and carnal desires. These attributes were not a part of God’s original plan, but were added when Satan entered the garden.

Therefore, we must be consumed with a righteous pursuit of God and godliness, and then we can put off the things of the world. The more you pursue God on a consistent basis, the fresher your life will become. Jesus makes life in a fallen world worth living. He will take the plain or mundane and transform it into glorious treasures. The will of man and sin has taken the blessings and life out of our earthly existence, but Jesus has come to restore what has been stolen from us.

Let’s not make our new life in Christ about religion. But let’s live and enjoy our new life in Christ in order that we might bring glory and honor to God through the overflow of blessings in our lives. Religion will stop at the door of righteousness and progress no further; it will promote self, but relationship will seize righteousness, deny self, and enter into eternal life with great anticipation. I guess you want to know how to pursue the Kingdom of God? Jesus told the distracters in His life that He must be about His Father’s business. He always pleased His Father and not self or man.

Another way to look at the principle of seeking the kingdom first is the teaching that Jesus gave in John 12. He said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” Until we deny self and give of ourselves to serve God in His kingdom, we can’t walk in the abundance of life. If we live our new lives for Him, then He can and will increase us.

—submitted by Asa Dockery, US