More Than These

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” ( John 21:15 ESV )

Her heart was broken.  After months of counseling, striving, praying, encouraging, pleading, her husband had simply told her, “I love you, but I think I love gambling more.”

Her husband, who claims to be a Christian, has a much deeper problem than loving gambling more than his wife.  He either has never been taught or has rejected what it really means to follow Jesus Christ: to love Jesus “more than these,” more than his gambling, more than even his wife.

Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart.  But He will not allow “all” to simply be a sweet sentiment.  He is either supreme in our hearts, or He is nothing at all. In Matthew 10:37 Jesus warned, “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.”

Jesus speaks the same to us.  He will challenge us on everything we might treasure in our hearts:  “Whoever loves gambling or chocolate or money more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves wife or mistress more than me is not worthy of me.”  We must love Jesus more than all of these.

This is not simply “something to work on” in the Christian life: this is the first step, the guiding rule, and the plumb line.  If someone has truly been given a new heart and the gift of the Holy Spirit, they will love Christ more than all.  Now that love will need to be nurtured and grow strong, and other things will still derail this first love from time to time.  But if the “love” for Christ is really not more than for these other things, than that person should not expect Christ to name them on the Day of Judgement.

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