What is most important in your life? We all have many people and activities and possessions that are important to us, but what one thing is more important to you than any other? If you were forced to give up everything else in your life, what one thing would you keep?
We all have particular possessions that we love. Some have fancy homes. Others have stylish cars. Still others have nice golf clubs or other sporting equipment. Some of us just enjoy the many items we use daily around the house to make our lives easier and more comfortable. We are proud of our things. We enjoy using our things. No matter how much we are tempted, however, to name our things as most important, surely we value our loved ones over our material possessions.
We all have children or brothers or sisters or husbands or wives or close friends whom we love dearly. Surely our loved ones come first. Surely we would give up our material possessions before giving up the people we love. No matter how much we love the people in our lives, however, as Christians we love someone else even more.
God desires to be first in our lives. God reserves the most honored place in our hearts for himself when he commands, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:7). Anything or anyone we love more than we love God becomes a false god, an idol. This includes even the people who are closest to us. Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).
We all are guilty of idolatry. Our corrupted hearts and minds tend to wander, to love other things above God. God blesses us with everything and everyone we have, but we tend to love the gift and to forget the giver.
In his inexplicable grace, God responded to our failure to love him above all things by loving us above all things. God was even willing to sacrifice his own dear Son for our salvation. Jesus suffered and died on the cross so that we could be God's special possession, God's beloved children. And we belong to God as his holy children by faith in Jesus Christ.
God desires that we love him above all things for our own good. So Jesus issues not a harsh command, but a loving invitation when he says, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these [earthly] things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). By faith in Christ we have everything. We have eternal life with God and we have the blessings God provides for this short life. Thanks be to God!
