The Fruit of Reflection From Seeking God First: Formation is Faith's Foundation
- Margarita Valdes
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
by Margarita Valdes
The right foundation always bears fruit.
Last month, I talked about why our foundation matters more than our resolutions. I established that when Jesus is our foundation—unchanging yesterday, today, and forever—we're starting from a position of promise.
But there was something else I mentioned that continued to echo in my mind: seeking first.
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
Not second. Not after we've handled everything else. First.
When God's kingdom and His righteousness become our top priority, Jesus promises that our Heavenly Father—who already knows what we need—will provide. This isn't passive wishful thinking. It's active trust that changes how we live, decide, and respond to life's challenges.
And here's what I discovered seeking first - it actually produces fruit.
What Seeking First Revealed
"Seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33)
For us at AFTER the King, seeking first meant asking a different question at the start of this year.
Not "How are the products performing?"
But more specifically, "How are the products performing at helping families' faith increase?"
That shift—from product to purpose—revealed something I'd been missing all along.
Faith wasn't growing due to the product because the family lacked formation habits.
Let me explain what I mean.
The Gap We Created
You may be familiar with the origin story of AFTER the King. My young son said something at the time that stopped me cold: "You told me that other dude was real too." He was talking about Santa versus Jesus—and the harsh reality of why now the one didn't feel real at all. Certainly, not based on my word alone - at least that's how it felt to him.
That moment revealed a gap I didn't know I created. I had given our son plenty of information about Jesus—Bible stories, church attendance, prayers before meals. But I had formed Santa into his daily reality through formation habits. Countdown calendars, bedtime conversations, cookies and milk, anticipation and ritual.
Information is knowing about Jesus. Formation is experiencing Him as real, present, and trustworthy in everyday life.
And here's the hard truth: our culture supports formation better than church and better do.
Culture forms beliefs through repetition, ritual, anticipation, and embodied practice. It doesn't just explain values—it builds them into daily rhythms until they feel real.
But when it comes to faith, we often default to information. We teach Bible stories. We explain theology. We answer questions. And we wonder why it doesn't stick—why faith feels like a Sunday thing instead of an everyday reality.
This is the formation gap. And it's what I faced and most Christian families are facing without even realizing it.
The Reordering
Formation first. Products as anchors.
When I sought first—when I asked whether the products we were selling actually increased faith—everything came into focus.
Products can't form faith. But they can anchor the practices that do.
A prayer pillow doesn't create bedtime discipleship on its own, but it can support the rhythm you're establishing. Faith apparel doesn't magically transform hearts, but it can remind you throughout the day that your walk is your witness. A faith-centered Christmas stocking doesn't form belief by itself, but it can anchor a tradition that does.
The practice matters most. The products just help you stay consistent.
This realization changed everything for me—not just as a business, but in understanding the value in this shift.
You don't need more stuff. You don't even need more information about Jesus. What you need is to understand how formation works—and then build it into the rhythms of your everyday life.
Formation first. Products as anchors. That's the shift.
And it's not about abandoning what we've built. It's about elevating it with purpose—aligning our work with what actually helps families experience Jesus as real, not just learn about Him.
Formation is Faith's Foundation
Maybe you've been feeling like faith isn't sticking with your kids. Maybe it feels distant, abstract, like something that happens at church but fades by Monday morning.
If that resonates, I want you to know: it's not because you're failing. It's because there's a gap no one ever taught us to recognize.
The good news? Knowing there is a gap, creates opportunity to close it.
Not through grand gestures or perfect routines. Not by overhauling our entire life overnight.
But through small, repeated practices that form faith into the fabric of our everyday life—practices that make Jesus feel as real as anything else our family experiences.
That's what seeking first revealed. Formation is faith's true foundation. It's reordering priorities so that formation—not just information—becomes the goal.
Starting From a Position of Promise
I walked into 2026 with one goal in mind. No resolutions, just a resolve to walk into it seeking God first.
That was me starting from a position of promise and as a result, everything found its proper place.
For me, seeking first revealed the formation gap and reordered my mission around how I can serve Him better and you. For you, seeking first might reveal something different. But the principle is the same:
When God's kingdom becomes the priority, He provides what we need. And often, what He provides is clarity about what actually matters.
Next time, I'll talk about what this looks like in practice—the specific daily rhythms that close the formation gap and make faith feel real in your home.
You'll also start seeing the formation of faith practices on our social media.
As always, we pray you Experience His Love and Live the Better AFTER.
What does "seeking first" look like in your family right now? What needs reordering? Share in the comments below—we'd love to hear what God is revealing to you.
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