I’ve never thought of my life as if it were a steak or a tea bag. But that is a a reality that I came face to face with today. While reading Matthew 6, I stumbled over a passage in verse 33 I have read probably hundreds of times and sung songs about.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (NIV)

I got that Jesus wants me to put God first. Who knows how many times I’ve given lip-service to that passage. But then I decided to see what perspective Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, puts on this verse. Peterson takes the original Greek and Hebrew of the Bible and puts a 20th/21st Century emotional perspective on God’s words.

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Steep…That’s immersing my life in God-reality. It’s marinading my life in God-initiative. It’s bathing my life in God-provisions.

That’s something. That’s way more than saying it.