Today, I am reading and commenting on  Matthew 5-6.

These two chapters have long been central to my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  I would like to start by commenting on what Jesus had to say at the end of this passage.  In some ways I think it sums up much of Jesus’ message: Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all of the other things you will need will be given to you.  I think that what Jesus says before this tell us how we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness.  Immediately before saying that, Jesus told us that we should not worry because God knows what we need better than we do.  Then as we continue backwards through the passage, we discover that before telling us not to worry, Jesus told us not to store treasures upon this earth, but rather to store treasure in heaven.  He told us that any treasure we gather on earth will be ephemeral, that is temporary and easily lost, but any treasure which we store in heaven will never be lost.  Further, He tells us that we will expend our effort towards where our treasure is.  If we seek treasure which we can store on earth, we will work towards earthly goals.  However, if we seek treasure which can only be redeemed in heaven, we will work towards heavenly goals.  The same theme applies to what Jesus has to say about fasting, praying, and giving to the needy.  If we do those things for praise from people here on earth, we will not gain rewards in heaven.  So, let us fast, pray, and help the needy without seeking the attention of people, instead let us do such things in order to please God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.