One-shot Living: Power Tool for 21st Century Christians

As I mentioned, One-shot-Living is a biblical concept. It has its root in the Sermon On the Mount and can be found in Matthew chapter 6. I'd advise you to read the entire message beginning in Chapter 5 so that you see the thread of thought Jesus has running. The sermon is a wide ranging message that has as an underlying theme, how to relate to God as our father and what this does to our relationships with our fellow men. This is a mind boggling idea because in this, Jesus has made two very important revelations:

First, that Jesus has opened to us the same access he has to the Father. According to Jesus, the Father is as much our father as he is to Jesus, and that's saying something. The barriers that people felt existed between them and the unapproachable God dissolved before their eyes. The door was now open for sinners and the poor and the ill and the oppressed to come with confidence into the presence of the holy but loving God and be, not only heard, but welcomed as a child is by a loving dad. 

Second, if we are children of that Father--the father of Jesus--then we are kin to our Savior by faith. This is the theme that makes our One-shot Living concept powerful.

So we come to Matthew 6:34. Jesus says, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Think about it. We are not to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow is not a consideration at this moment. Today, we need to focus on today.

Now, just before this text, Jesus mentioned something else important. Since we are members of his family and children of his father, the things most people worry about are not to be fretted over because, as he puts it, the Father already knows what you need and will supply it. So, with no worry about tomorrow and no fretting about personal needs today, what do we focus on?

Verse 33 says that our primary focus is seeking the kingdom of God and his righteouness. This assignment sounds simple but it is loaded and deep. Let's dig into this.

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom, and what does that have to do with One-shot Living?