<h2>Sermon on the Mount: A model prayer and some perplexing advice</h2><p><a name="m_-691097569792927436_www_biblegateway_com_passage__" class="m_-691097569792927436bibleref" href="http://links.biblegateway.mkt4731.com/ctt?kn=27&ms=NTI2MTcwMzkS1&r=MjY3OTQ2OTczOTUS1&b=0&j=MTAyNDk1NDU4MwS2&mt=1&rt=0" target="_blank">Matthew 6</a></p><p><a name="m_-691097569792927436_www_biblegateway_com_pass_1" class="m_-691097569792927436bibleref" href="http://links.biblegateway.mkt4731.com/ctt?kn=21&ms=NTI2MTcwMzkS1&r=MjY3OTQ2OTczOTUS1&b=0&j=MTAyNDk1NDU4MwS2&mt=1&rt=0" target="_blank">Matthew <span class="aBn"><span class="aQJ">6:33</span></span></a> “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”</p><p><br></p><p>Matthew
6, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, contains the Lord’s
Prayer, perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This model prayer by
Jesus captures well the message of the kingdom: “Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (<a name="m_-691097569792927436_www_biblegateway_com_pass_2" class="m_-691097569792927436bibleref" href="http://links.biblegateway.mkt4731.com/ctt?kn=23&ms=NTI2MTcwMzkS1&r=MjY3OTQ2OTczOTUS1&b=0&j=MTAyNDk1NDU4MwS2&mt=1&rt=0" target="_blank">Matthew <span class="aBn"><span class="aQJ">6:10</span></span></a>). Jesus seeks to bring the two worlds together, and the Sermon on the Mount explains how.</p><p>At
first glance, some of Jesus’ advice may seem downright foolish: Give to
everyone who asks, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, grant
interest-free loans, don’t worry about clothes or food. Can such
idealism ever work in the “real,” or visible, world? <br></p><p><br></p><p>That
is precisely Jesus’ point: Break your obsession with safety, security,
thriftiness, self-righteousness. Depend instead on the Father, letting
God take care of the personal injustices that come your way, trusting
God to look after your daily needs. In a nutshell, the message of the
kingdom is this: Live for God rather than for yourself.</p><p><br></p><p>The
message applies to rewards as well. Most of us look to friends and
colleagues for our rewards: a slap on the back, a raise, applause, a
generous compliment. According to Jesus, far more important rewards will
come in God’s heavenly kingdom. Therefore, the most significant acts
may be carried out in secret, seen and rewarded by no one but God.</p><p><br></p><p>Future Savings Account</p><p>As
Jesus explains it, we are accumulating a kind of savings account,
storing up treasures in heaven rather than on Earth—treasures great
enough to pay back any amount of suffering in this life (see <a name="m_-691097569792927436_www_biblegateway_com_pass_3" class="m_-691097569792927436bibleref" href="http://links.biblegateway.mkt4731.com/ctt?kn=19&ms=NTI2MTcwMzkS1&r=MjY3OTQ2OTczOTUS1&b=0&j=MTAyNDk1NDU4MwS2&mt=1&rt=0" target="_blank">Matthew <span class="aBn"><span class="aQJ">6:19</span></span></a>).
The Old Testament has dropped a few scant hints about an afterlife, but
Jesus speaks plainly about a place where “the righteous will shine like
the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (<a name="m_-691097569792927436_www_biblegateway_com_pass_4" class="m_-691097569792927436bibleref" href="http://links.biblegateway.mkt4731.com/ctt?kn=20&ms=NTI2MTcwMzkS1&r=MjY3OTQ2OTczOTUS1&b=0&j=MTAyNDk1NDU4MwS2&mt=1&rt=0" target="_blank">Matthew <span class="aBn"><span class="aQJ">13:43</span></span></a>).</p><p><br></p><p>In
their quest for a kingdom, the Jews of Jesus’ day have been looking for
signs of God’s approval in this life, primarily through prosperity and
political power. Beginning with this speech, Jesus changes the focus to
the life to come. He discounts success in this visible world. Invest in
the future life, he cautions; for rust, a burglar or even an insect can
destroy all the accumulated things of this present one.</p><p><br></p><p>Life Questions</p><p>Among the people you know, who best puts these principles into practice?</p>
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