After all, my children came from Him. He blessed me with their precious lives. Didn’t He want me to love, nurture and protect them above all else? I would sacrifice my life for my kids. God the Father sacrificed His son, Jesus. Wasn't that the example He wanted me to follow? To be a good parent? To love my children above everything?
Or does that make them my idols?
I have come to understand that my love for God is not above my love for my children; nor is it beneath my love for my children. Nor are they equal. The two simply cannot be compared. Likewise, I love Jim, the greatest husband in the history of the universe. I also love the other members of my family and my friends. But none of the ways I love those people can be compared to my love for God, because it is not the same kind of love.
- Do I love one child more than I love the other? No, I love them differently.
- Do I love my children more than I love my husband? No, I love them differently.
- Do I love my husband more than I love God? No, I love them differently.
In fact, my love for my children is a way for God is teaching me to understand His love in a personal and intimate way. It is how I can learn to love Him in return. I am the parent to my children. He is my Heavenly Father. My children give me a glimpse into God's love relationship with us.
My love for my children therefore causes me to love God with even deeper understanding.
It reached a pinnacle the day my daughter started college. As we drove away from the dorm and headed home, I realized I could no longer watch over her in her daily activities. But I also understood that as much as I loved her, God loved her even more. I therefore knew He was watching over her while I could not. I finally understood that my children are not my own. God had merely entrusted them to me until they could stand on their own alongside Him.
I love my children and my husband and my family and my friends. As wonderful as they are, I am unable to love them as deeply as I love God. Because God made me that way.
It’s pointless to compare our love for others to our love for God. God wins because our love for God and His love for us is the basis for everything. It is part of who we are as Christians. But because He first loved us, we are free to love Him and the people He has placed in our lives. With abundance.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we love you. And we love you with a higher love because you placed that love deep inside of us. Please show us how to know you more and how to love you above all else. Amen.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Have you wrestled with the question of whether you love certain people so much they have become like idols over your love for God? How have you dealt with that question?
2 comments:
@Debbie - merciful heavens! I only removed your comment because it contained your personal info. "Post removed by administrator" sounds so diabolical! Thank you for posting.
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