333 WORDS….
We can love others lots, but not too much. Loving another too much is loving another more than Jesus. We are to “love thy neighbour as thyself”, but we are to love Jesus Christ more than ourselves. Loving ‘me’ more than Him is detrimental to me. I bless me by loving Him more. And….
And I bless others by loving Jesus more than them. I bless my children by loving Him more. I bless my spouse by loving Him more. I bless the church by loving Jesus more than the church.
It was good, very good, that Adam loved Eve. But Adam damaged himself, and Eve, by loving Eve too much; again, too much is more than God. [See note # 1.]
I can love ‘my’ work, my business, my ministry, my pastimes…. but not overly.
There is only one who is impossible to love too much…. the Lord Jesus.
Evangelicals love Jesus…. we know this by the fruit they bear…. but not supremely…. we know this by the fruit they do not bear.
We know whom we love mostly by what we say. (C.T. Studd [See note # 2.]: “What moves the heart, wags the tongue.” ) And by whom we obey. (“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”) And by the company we keep. (“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”)
Loving justice and righteousness and truth – more than spouse, more than family, more than church – is loving God supremely because God is justice and God is righteousness and God is truth.
That which we love more than Lord Jesus is an idol. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” An idol is a god. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” A spouse can be, and often is a god. Children and parents can be, and often are gods. Churchianity can be, and often is a god.
It is not sufficient to love Lord Jesus; we must love Him more than all. (“He is a jealous God.”) He must be “first love”. Not second, not fifth. First. Amen?
NOTE # 1. God said, “Don’t eat.” Eve said, “Eat.” Adam obeyed the one he loved most.
NOTE # 2: As quoted by Norman Grubb in his The Law of Faith.