Jesus first, others second . . .

JOY – Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself Last -- We use this acronym all the time, but is it truly biblical? Is that what Jesus meant when he described the greatest commandment as to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind and the second as to love our neighbor as ourselves? I believe that when you look at the demands of the gospel, this saying falls short! Jesus tells us in Luke 14:26 (NASB95), “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.” We know that the intent of Jesus’ words were not that we were to literally hate our family, but that our love for Jesus is to be so supreme that in comparison all other loves seem like hate. I am convinced that all of the struggles in my life (temptation, sin, doubts, etc. . .) flow from the reality that too often my love for Jesus is not what it should be! Lord, help me to love you supremely! Let nothing in my life be on the same level as you!