Luke 12:31

Rather than seeking after material possessions Jesus’ disciples should seek after God’s messianic kingdom and the lasting things associated with it. This means preparing oneself for it and becoming an active participant in God’s program leading up to it. Jesus promised that God would provide the material provisions of those who do so. The form of the Greek sentence and the context suggest that God’s provision depends on the disciple’s seeking for His kingdom. This is a conditional promise (cf. Matthew 6:33). The paratactic construction suggests a condition. Parataxis, literally a placing side by side, is the literary device of setting clauses side by side without indicating with connecting words the co-ordinate or subordinate relation between them. Here, as in Luke 10:28 b for example, the first clause contains the condition for the realization of what the second clause contains.

However we need to understand this promise in the larger context of life in a fallen world. We must realize that sometimes disciples get caught up in the consequences of sin and suffering as do non-disciples. Even though God knows every sparrow that falls to the ground, He allows some to fall (Matthew 10:29-31). Likewise He allows some of His disciples to experience privation and to die prematurely.