Whom are you living for right now? What is your priority in life?
In today’s culture, the answer may or may not be so clear.
However, Jesus spells it out in Matthew 22:34-38,
“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
(NLT)
Our commitment is to God first, and everything we do should flow out that.
When we live for God, we should want to keep His commandments.
When Moses was teaching the Israelites, the commandments of God gives the commandments,
Moses tells them this,
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.” Deuteronomy 6: 4-6 NLT
Placing God first in our lives requires us to die to ourselves.
This is what Jesus says,
“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 NLT
God, first in our lives, means removing ourselves from the picture. Everything you do should be to bring glory and honor to God.
I know that we always do not think that way, but it is a mindset that we must strive for daily.
God gives this promise if we genuinely seek Him,
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 NLT
He will take care of us when we put Him first.
“Lord, Help me to put you first in all that I do. I want to bring glory to your name. Help me to seek you with my whole heart, soul, and mind.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen”
Absolutely! I had a conversation with someone and we are both believers, but don’t see an issue the exactly same way. However, we came to the consensus that we can both tangibly help and serve TOGETHER!!! I think Jesus is more concerned with us putting aside our differences (though it is healthy to discuss if done respectfully), but then focus on how can we work together to love Him. This is a great reminder. Thank you for posting!
Thank you for reading, Jessica!