First and Second Things: Do You Love Me?
Materials: Bible, Pen and paper
The world asks the question, what are you worth? The answer that is looked for has to do with how much you have accomplished, what results have you shown, and what other people think of you.
Jesus comes with another question: Do you love me? Jesus tells us that our worth is not found in the world’s value but in his love. His love is not in question. He died on the cross to demonstrate how great his love is for each and every individual. He didn't die for faceless humanity but for each person. He died to demonstrate his love for you. That doesn't change from day to day. The question is, have you accepted Jesus love and do you love him? Do you love him beyond the world’s values.
Your accomplishments, your work, and your reputation are not unimportant, but if you look to these first, if you serve them first, you will find they are fickle and cruel masters. People’s opinions change. For every accomplishment, there is someone who wants take your place in the spotlight. It's a dog eat dog world and you will never find security and stability if your life is driven by these secondary matters. Only in Jesus do we find lasting, stable, and faithful love. Only in Jesus is there any lasting sense of security. When we give love we are able to receive love. The love of the world is tinged with resentfulness, jealousy, and faithlessness. Jesus' love is forgiving, healing, caring, and selfless.
It really matters who or what has the first place in our life. So Jesus comes to ask each one of us, do you love me? He comes to us over and over again to ask this basic question because our hearts are prone to wonder. The affairs of the world and the cares of the day are always pressing in on us. We are easily distracted to our own detriment. Jesus continues to come to us and help us to center on our one true home, himself.
Exercise:
Sit before God and ask him to help you understand your heart at the moment. Is there anything making you anxious? What is dominating your thoughts? If you are finding it hard to schedule time with God, what activities or concerns are you trading for time with God? Whose opinions matter most to you right now? What does success mean for you?
Let God shine a bright light into your heart. Don’t stop with quick, easy, or expected answers. There are real issues in you life. There are activities that you need to invest time and energy in to accomplish positive things. But have the other concerns in your life become too big? Is your reputation more important than God’s love for you? Have accomplishments and the applause of others become a dominant force in your life? Is family, study, work, or play steering your life. Do you love them more than Jesus? It's worth shining a bright life into our heart because when our love for Jesus is greater than all other loves, then acceptance, forgiveness, freedom, and love are released into our lives.
Write down those things that are competing with Jesus’ love as an act of confession. Release these back to God, and ask him to put your priorities life. Ask God to help you answer, "yes", to Jesus’ question, "Do you love me?"
Ask God if there is anything you need to do to put the priorities of your life in order. Does your schedule need to change? Are there things that can be eliminated from your life now that God’s love is your first concern? Are there things that need to be added to your life to reflect this change of priorities? Write these down.
When you have finished praying through the list of pretenders for your heart, destroy it. Let God take care of the healing of your heart in these issues. Keep whatever instructions God has given you so you can remember them for application and further prayer. Share these instructions with someone you trust who can encourage you and spur you on.