Thought of the Day !!

     And God spoke all these words:
     I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
     You shall have no other gods before me.
     You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
                                                                       Exodus 20:1-6 (NIV)

In last night's sermon I believe I shocked some folks with a statement I made.  I said that Michelle loves Jesus more than she loves me and that is the way it should be.  There are many bad things we can put before God that we sometimes think of as gods or idols.  But what I was saying is that even wonderful gifts from God can become gods/idols when we place the created before the Creator. 

Look at Abraham.  Though God knew that He wasn't going to allow Abraham to take the life of his son Isaac, Abraham was taught a lesson that God comes first, even before family.  I think we fail to realize that our lives were designed to be familial.  We are to honor our mothers and fathers.  We are to leave them and become one forever with our mate.  We are to see other Christians as brothers and sisters.  But even then, Christ is the head of the body.  He is the piece that makes everything else work.

I want my wife to love Jesus more.  I want her to have Him be first in her life.  If she loves me with all her heart and more than anything else, then her love for me is not endless.  It will always be missing something.  It will never be a great as its potential to be.  This is because when Christ comes first, He guides our love and the pieces all fit into place.  Then it is not a love that will only last a lifetime.  It's a love that can live up to its potential for eternity. 

God created us this way.  Place God/Jesus first in your life over everything, and everything will get better.

In the love of Christ,
greg