New Year's Prayer

I used to be fairly deeply troubled by a passage that is found in the gospels.

"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." Matthew 10:36-38

I remember sensing that even if the basic nature of what Christ was saying here was true, it still seemed a bit harsh to force me to be CERTAIN that I did not love my father, mother, son, or daughter, etc. more than I loved Jesus. I simply chose to let this objection go because of His overwhelming display of love and power, but it still occasionally resurfaced in my mind.

Finally, I had a moment of clarity one day, and this insight came to me about this scripture from some of my own experiences.

What does it look like to love your closest family members(spouse, parent, child, etc.) or friends more than Christ? When looking back, I see lapses in the intensity of my love for Him. Whenever that happens, guess who consistently pays the most immediate price for my lull in love? It often seems to be those closest to me. I become a much more self-centered person. And without fail, those who reap the greatest benefit to my increase in consistency and intensity regarding my love for Christ are those closest to me as well. Why is this?

Psalm 119:32 states, "I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!"

I believe that this is the key. God enlarges our CAPACITY to love others when we seek Him FIRST! I can never love my family or friends or anyone else in my own strength as much as I can love them by way of His strength. Therefore, if I love them more than Jesus, I love them less. However, if I place Christ first, He enables me to love them more than I could have otherwise been capable of on my own.

Therefore, my prayer for 2011 is simply this,

"Dear Lord, enlarge my heart. Give me a greater capacity to express your love to those I'm closest to AND to those who I don't know at all."