Life is complicated and often requires expert juggling. Balancing work and home, time between your kids and your spouse, having to be in two places at once, and your faith with everything else, are just a few.
Now I am far from being an expert juggler, but I do know it’s easier to do that when I am on a flat surface with secure footing. And that is why I want to talk to you about your foundation. When you consider the myriad of things you’re balancing, juggling and negotiating, there is one thing that MUST take precedence and priority over all: the LORD.
The first two of the Ten Commandments make this very clear: “Do not worship any god except me. Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love” (Exodus 20:3-5 CEV).
God speaking through Isaiah takes it further: “People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be. I alone am the Lord, the only one who can save you” (Isa 43:10-11 GNT).
And what does Jesus have to say about it? “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength’” (Mark 12:29-30 NLT).
He goes on to say, “The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl” (Matt 13:45-46 CEV). And “Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, ‘You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me’” (Mark 10:21 GNT).
Loving the LORD your God should be your priority and greatest pursuit. Loving God must take precedence over all. Everything. But not only is this necessary, it’s good. Why?
The Apostle Paul writes: “But each of you must be careful how you build. For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid” ( 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 GNT).
There’s your foundation, the place where you can have the most solid footing.
But there’s another other thing that happens when you put God first:
- “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 NAS).
- “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8 NLT).
- “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).
God pours out His love into our hearts, so that we can love Him and love others. Love is an integral part of the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. It not only gives you a sure footing, but it also shows you how you live.
So if you want to balance all the things in your life, first get completely out of balance in your commitment and relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Be completely sold out to Him.
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mathew 16:24-26 NLT).
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