What would you say is the most important thing in your life? What do you value more than anything else?

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment in all the law, his answer was this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 25:35-37)

Do our lives reflect this kind of love?

When our daughter Lexi was struggling with addiction, helping her became my obsession. It consumed my every thought. I was desperate to find a way to save her. Then one day one of our other daughters looked at my husband and me and said, “Lexi is more important to you than anything else. She’s all you ever think about or talk about.” Ouch! We were immediately crushed that this was her perspective. It made us think – did we have things in the right order? Of course, we loved Lexi immensely and wanted to help her, but had helping her taken over our hearts, our minds, and our souls? Had it taken over the needs of our other kids? Had it even taken priority over our love for God? 

Didn’t we want our kids to see that following God was most important to us? Shouldn’t that be what they noticed as we navigated difficult circumstances?

Jesus clarifies this absolute love with some really hard-hitting words.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

Hate? Does Christ really want us to hate our family members? Well, we know he did not mean this literally because he says that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors!  But he does mean that “hatred” should be the feeling towards them in comparison with our love for him. Our relationships in this world, even the ones with our closest family members, must be secondary to our relationship with him. Our love for God must be one hundred percent, absolute, stronger than any other love we have in our lives. Loving and pleasing him must be first and foremost.

This really struck me after Lexi passed away. Her loss was with me day and night. But Jesus’s words reminded me that my love for him needed to come before anything else, even my love for her. 

Why do you think God wants us to love him more than anything? He knows that the things of this world are temporary. He knows that human relationships, unfortunately, pass in and out of our lives. He knows that he is the only one who will never let us down, who is always there for us, and who loves us beyond words or explanation. Human relationships, though very valuable, are imperfect. Only God can give us that fulfillment down deep in our soul, the feeling of contentment in any circumstance, the peace and steady assurance that we are going to be okay no matter what. He set his love on us before the beginning of time and created us with a special meaning and purpose. And he, in turn, wants our dedicated, whole-hearted, and steadfast love.

I am so very thankful for the people God has put in my life. I am blessed by the love I receive and give to them. My friends and family have given my life meaning beyond words. But…God must be Number One.

In John 14:21, Jesus says, “I do as the Father commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” Jesus’s actions showed his love for God. Does my life reflect my love of the Father? Do the people around me know I love him?

When was the last time you expressed your love to God? When was the last time you prayed the words, “God, I love you.”? Sit down with God today and give him your love. Ask him to grow your love for him so that it is more than any other love in your life.