34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~ Matthew 10:34-39
These words are hard to grasp. In fact, I’d venture to say this is one of the hardest teachings Jesus has given us. It’s not just denying our own flesh but choosing Him above all others, including those we love most. See, a common theme we have in the Church today is Christians standing firm on the Word, until a loved one decides to live in sin. So, instead of loving the person, not the sin, they embrace the sin and begin to justify it, even by twisting and cherry-picking Scripture. Their love for that person overrides their love for God. When we choose others over God, we end up causing ourselves to never truly love anyone.
God is love. Without loving the LORD above all, we fail to truly love anyone. That love we feel we have for our loved are living in Sin that causes us to affirm their sin, isn’t true love. True love doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but in Truth. Christ is Truth. Teaching what the Spirit of Truth authored through the Scribes of the Scriptures is Truth. Someone’s feelings, emotions, thoughts, or desires aren’t Truth. And affirming these things isn’t love. It is hate in disguise.
Hatred will disguise itself as love and lead many to Hell. It will convince you that to do anything other than to accept and affirm is hatred. False love. Loving others more than the LORD God leads to a reprobate mind. The LORD demands we love Him above all, not because He wants to divide the family, but because He understands that He alone is perfect and is love itself. So, when you love Him first and put Him first, you will learn how to truly love others, just as God loves the World.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love God First.