My relationship with Daddy can't be like a list. Jesus is not my priority. That's not what keeping Him first means. Now, before anyone goes running and complaining about the heretic saying that Jesus is not our priority, please stick around and see what I mean.
Do you have to do lists? Maybe it's not written down, but mentally we look ahead and think this is what I'd like to get done today. There are likely a few things on that list that get priority. These are needs and musts. I have to do's. For instance, I have to feed the animals today. I will have to do that again tomorrow. Then there are things that take priority because of their importance to us as much as because of their necessity. I have to have my morning time and do the things that are necessary for ministry, such as writing this Moment.
But will this is a priority, it's not an all-day thing. Nor is feeding the animals or washing dishes or any number of things that I need to do. I can check them off when done and not have to think or worry about them again for a while. My relationship with God is not like that. He is not a priority on my to do list. He is not even the highest priority. He is not first on a list.
It's not #1 spend time with Jesus. Check. Now, #2 go to work. No, everything is connected. It's Jesus at the center of my morning time, Jesus at the center of my relationship with my wife, Jesus at the center of my commute, Jesus at the center of work, Jesus at the center of my time to relax and rest, and Jesus at the center of everything and every moment of every day.
The goal is not to make Him first but have moments where He is not a factor, but rather to have every part of our lives include Him, be for Him and in every moment to be aware that He is there with us. The only way that this illustration and the picture I used is inaccurate is that not all the spokes are equal. Everything is connected to my relationship with Him, and He is at the center of all I am and do. But my relationship with our animals isn't even close to the same thickness and importance as my relationship with my wife. The ministry God has called me to is far more essential than Texas Tech football. Every day there are spokes that can be broken or removed without the wheel of life being broken or losing integrity. But there are some spokes that are necessary because of what God has given me. You have your own.
But quickly, before I leave that brings up that question of what is next. Jesus is the center, what it is all connected to. Remove Him and everything falls apart. The wheel can not function. But the most important spoke, what is it? I don't know what it is for you. I know what it is for me. I do however know what it isn't for either of us. No offense to the campaign that tries to encourage people to put God first, but I am not second. You are not your second either, at least you shouldn't be if want to be spiritually fit and of maximum service to God and others. Leah is the most important spoke on my wheel, followed closely be the ministry that God has called me to. We are called to deny self, and that's hard to do if we insist of nothing but God coming before our own needs and comforts. I'm not number one is a good place to start, but in truth, we are not number two or even number three in most cases. We can be a spoke. I am putting my desires on that wheel every time I watch a Tech game (I am so ready for fall and football), and there's nothing wrong with that. But I need to keep that spoke in the right place and thickness (importance). It's not more important or essential than Leah or ministry or any number of things. Enjoy the pleasures and hobbies that God has created you with am affinity for. Maybe you carve pipes or play golf or hunt or fish or shop or bake or read or play video games or....... There is a time to rest and recreate and God designed us to enjoy things. It's fine. But our pleasures and desires and hobbies can't be the biggest spoke on the wheel or the alignment will get all out of whack.
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