The Righteousness of the Kingdom
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8
In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God. — 1 John 3:10
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: Uncertainty about tomorrow can fill us with anxiety, but God wants us to live with security and trust. Let us seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, trusting that he will take care of our needs. That righteousness is practiced with mercy, humility, and love for one another. It is not limited to its implications for the world, but seeks relationships marked by love. God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel and comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, without distinction. Its fruit is peace. So we can let go of anxiety and rest in his care.
The anxiety that comes from uncertainty about the future and what tomorrow will bring has caused many Christians to stumble. It pleases God for the people of his Kingdom, the church of Jesus Christ, to live in a state of security and trust, not in a state of worry and anguish about tomorrow.
God tells you to attend first to his concerns, and he will attend to yours. “Rather, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...” (Mt 6.33). I have always wondered why Jesus spoke of righteousness in relation to the Kingdom.
Along with his Kingdom (the things that come from God), he invites us to seek his righteousness as well. The prophet Micah 6.8 tells us: “You have already been told what is good! You have already been told what the Lord expects of you: to practice justice, to love mercy, and to humble yourself before your God.”
The apostle John, in his first letter, is much more conclusive when he says: “This is how we distinguish between the children of God and the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother” (1 Jn 3.10).
For the Christian, justice takes on a spiritual dimension grounded in love: justice is the “action that seeks to bring the entire human community together in a web of relationships where love prevails.” For the world, justice has other implications.
Now then, how has God's righteousness been revealed? The apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans: “Indeed, in the gospel the righteousness that comes from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from beginning to end, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Ro 1.17), and later adds, “This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…without distinction” (Ro 3.2). God's righteousness is peace. The gospel of the Kingdom is a gospel of peace. The apostle James says that “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace” (Jas 3.18).
The truth is that God's righteousness is a sign of his love, attained through saving faith in Christ, and its fruit is peace; so why do you worry and feel anxious when you know that the Lord is in control of your life? Free yourself from anxiety. God cares for you. Remember that love is the sign of the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
God bless you!