PRIORITY NUMBER ONE: LOVING JESUS
Anyone who lovesG5368 his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who
lovesG5368 his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take
up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matt. 10:37-39
Loyal disciples sacrificially choose their essential priorities. . . Faithfulness to Christ calls for a commitment to Him that supersedes all other commitments.
Swindoll, Charles R., Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-15, pp. 204 & 206.
Priorities. We are being “coached” by a dynamic 95-year-young minister named T. D. Hall, and one of the first lessons he shared with us was the Five Priorities. They are: 1) God, 2) Family, 3) Relationships, 4) Health, 5) Career. If we get that first priority right, many other things will fall into place because they build on the foundation of a relationship with the Lord. However, there are times when placing Jesus first in our lives creates conflict in other areas. Those who come from non-believing families may have issues that arise in what should be our closest earthly relationships. They may be teased for being a “goody two-shoes” or worse, disowned or even threatened with death if their family is of another religion. As Swindoll explained in the quote above, we sometimes have to make sacrificial choices. After telling the early disciples that they needed to place Him above even their parents and children, Jesus went further to say they needed to “take up their cross” and follow Him. At this point in His ministry, the Twelve still did not understand that the Lord’s ultimate goal was to die in our place on a cross; but they had all seen Roman crucifixions. They certainly understood it to be the most horrific way to die. Jesus made it clear that those who follow Him must be willing to sacrifice even to the point of death for Him. However, if we lose our lives (literally or even figuratively) because of our commitment to Christ, we will find that we have found a life worth far more than anything we lost.
Is our devotion to Jesus so passionate that we place Him above all other relationships and even our own lives? In today’s immensely self-centered society, it may be hard to imagine denying oneself to “take up our cross.” There are magazines on the store shelves titled People, Us, and Self. We are urged to engage in “self-care” which is not inherently wrong if it means taking care of priority number four which is health, emotional and physical. But if it means placing our own needs above all others to the exclusion of following what Christ has called us to do, then it becomes narcissism. In what ways do we demonstrate that our love and commitment to Jesus “supersedes all other commitments.”
Father, help us to understand what it means to place You first in our lives. Then enable us to follow through on that commitment knowing that in You, we have abundant life.
Worship with Chris Tomlin (feat Kim Walker-Smith) singing “First Love”: