I Love You More

When I was younger, I would say to my mom, “I love you 99.9%, and I love God 100%.”

She would smile and reply, “And how much do you love Daddy?”

After pretending to be deep in thought, I would say, “I love him 99.9% too.”

Little could my six-year-old mind comprehend that, mathematically, this didn’t add up. Still, you get the point. Even though I love my parents a lot, I love God much more. And that’s the way it should be. But unfortunately, sometimes, as you know, we make mistakes, and God slips to the back of our mind.

If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. (Matthew 10:33, NLT)

This is basically saying that we need to put God first. When we put things before God, we’re saying that we care more about these things than Him. And, if you stop to think about it, that’s crazy! Take a look at these verses:

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. (Psalm 13:5)

With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. (Psalm 86:12-13)

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

“Your unfailing love”…”your love for me is very great”…”his great love for us”. And of course, John 3:16. Can you imagine someone that loves you so much that they would die for you? Would they be willing to take the bullet for you? We can say, “Oh sure, my friends/parents would do anything for me”, but when you really think about it, would you be willing to give up your entire life and future so that someone else can have theirs? In God’s case, He died on the cross so that we could spend eternity with Him. That love is unfailing, never-ending, unsurpassed. God loves you. He wants you to join His family. He wants you to spend an eternity with Him in heaven. All you have to do is accept his gift of salvation.

You know, I like to say that God’s gift of salvation is an offer that never expires, but in reality that isn’t true. As long as we live on this earth, we have the opportunity to accept Jesus into our hearts. But someday, you’ll move on from this world. After death, that opportunity is gone. And for teens, that may seem like a long way away, but that’s not the case for everyone. Just a week or two ago, a teen died in a car crash not far from where we live. I don’t know if he was saved. But the point is, we don’t know when our time will be up. Many of us will live for a long time, I pray, but that’s just not how it’s going to happen for some of us. But death isn’t the only thing that will come between us and God’s salvation. Someday soon, the church (God’s children) will be raptured into heaven. After that will come a seven year period called the Tribulation. You can still accept Christ into your heart during that time–many will–but let me tell you, it won’t be easy to live as a Christian during the Tribulation. God wants you to join His family today. He wants the very best for you. God loves you more.

Well, I hadn’t really meant to get into the topic of salvation, but there you have it. Do you love God more? Are you ready to accept Him as your Lord and Savior? It’s time to say yes.

TTT

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