How to: Love Him More

Hello dear readers, this is the first of a 2 part blog post that breaks down a short section of hard to swallow scripture from the book of Matthew.

This message sprang forth from the new bible study routine I discussed in my prior blog on biblical resolutions. Basically, as I read I have been writing out each verse line by line. Writing out each verse by hand has forced me to slow down and really grasp the meaning of every word as I read it. I have gleaned so much more from my morning studies, by doing them this way.

The other morning, I was almost finished with Matthew 10, when a group of verses hit me like a bag of rocks. I will type them below and see if they have the same affect on you.

Matthew 10:37-39

“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

That hit me hard.

Let’s break down the first portion of these verses: “Anyone who loves their momma, daddy or babies more than they love Jesus, is not worthy of Him.” As my daughter JoJo would say, “like whoa!” First of all, I proclaim all the time that I love God more than anything. I pray to Him and tell Him He is number one in my life. But is that true? Do I live like that is true? Can I say with 100 percent confidence that I love him more than my mom and dad? More than my babies? More than my husband? My heart wants to say I do, but do my actions?

My love for the Lord has grown so much in the last 5 years. God has gotten me through scary situations, He has been by my side through hard seasons, He has built me up, He has revealed Himself to me in many ways. So, do I see Him pursuing me? Do I believe our relationship is real? Is He my true love? My true joy?

My honest answer is: some days. On the days when I feel and see Him working all around me I totally love HIM more than anything. What about the hard days though? What about the times He feels so distant and it’s not evident that He is moving in my life? Those are the days I can not honestly say I love Him the most.

The beautiful thing is: He is not me.

He is not a God that gives and take His love away with differing emotions and feelings. His love is not circumstantial. His love truly never fails. He knows my innermost thoughts, my hidden actions, my highs and lows, my victories and my failures-past and future, and HE LOVES ME.

That is why I press on. That is why I pray that a perfect God will mold and make me more like Him and less like me.

Guys, we are human. We can’t in our human form love God more than anything, everyday no matter how hard our flesh may try. This is why it is so important to spend time with Him every morning asking him to help us in our weakness. I must pray and ask God to help me love Him better! That is a prayer I believe He will always immediately answer!

Lord I pray to LOVE YOU more than ANYTHING. More than the loving husband you sent to me, and more than the beautiful babies you trusted to me. I love you more than EVERYTHING. Amen.

The second section of these verses is even more challenging for me to work through. In my next post I will break those down and share how I have personally worked to “lose my life” for the Lord.

Until then, God bless you all,

Tatum