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First Things First

LoveGodLoveOthers

"To love you as I should, I must worship God as Creator. When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed, but increased". (C.S. Lewis)

Or said in a different way much earlier...

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate (their) father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Jesus - Luke 14:26-27)

Is Jesus talking about hating your family in the way our western world English speaking minds are thinking? I say no. Jesus is saying if you don't put me first in your life, you will necessarily put someone or something else first in your life. C. S. Lewis recognized that fact in his quote above.

So our challenge, you and I, this weekend is to put first things first. Our love for our Father in Heaven, our commitment to completely and totally with all our hearts to follow Christ. Watch then as the "second things are not suppressed, but increased".

Philip J.