Sunday 21 Oct 2012

Sunday Reading: Matthew 10:37-42

Key Verse: Matthew 10:37
37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Devotion:
I wonder if you have wondered at this verse like I used to when I was young in Christ? This verse may stand as a stumbling block to those who do not yet grasp the enormity of God’s love toward us, but to those who know God’s love it is a confirmation of just how we need to love Him back – because of His love for us. Do not be detracted away from loving your family and friends by these words because when you begin to follow these words, your love for you friends and family will continue to grow!

Christ was not telling us that we need to turn our backs on everything else and focus only on Him. If He had meant that then His words to us to love our enemies would have been hollow! Instead He is emphasising that the love that we need to share with His should be without limit and deeply embedded in faith and hope. Even our nearest and dearest could lead us away from Christ if we were to follow their example instead of sticking up for Christ and following His Word…

If we look at Christ as simply being a prophet (as some religions do) then we shall get nothing more back from that relationship than us knowing a prophet. That prophet would tell us of all the things that we did wrong but would not go further than that. But when we love Christ as we should, with our whole heart and soul, then we will get back more than we can ever imagine because we will then begin to see and experience the true love of Christ.

God wants us to embrace the world that He has given to us; not to love it like a god but to love it enough to show it our true love – Christ. God wants us to show others this love that He has shown us through Jesus and through everything that He has done for us. He wants us to share that love with the people around us, with our families, our friends and even our enemies. That is the first step toward showing them our God. Once we can show others that we have this great love we can then introduce then to our Awesome God. Once they know that God is the God we worship and love, then we can begin to explain them the rules that God has laid down before us and why they too should be constrained by those same rules as we try to obey.

Points to Ponder:
How deep is your love toward your family?

How deep is your love toward your God?