Join us this Sunday! In-Person 8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am, Online 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am, Online 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Are You Off Center?

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5.

Steve Maraboli, speaking on priorities said, “when someone tells you they are too ‘busy’ it’s not a reflection of their schedule, it’s reflection of your spot on their schedule.”  The point is this: If God is not our priority, it is not a reflection of God, but a reflection of the spot we put God in our schedule and in our priorities. God longs to be and should be the center of the universe and will always be the center of our lives.   

Most Christians when establishing a list of priorities, include God, spouse, children, others, job and ministry, howbeit, in different orders. Making a list of priorities doesn’t mean that we neglect the lower things for the upper things.  All of these things are things that matter to God and thus should matter to each one of us. But in life and in marriage, the list begins and ends with God. The number one priority in our life should be God. But it should be deeper and more inclusive than that.

I don’t want God to be just a priority in my life. He should not be relegated to a bullet list of things that really matter to me. Because when we simply place Him on the top of the list, we are claiming that He is part of our lives. If we make God another line in a list, we are suggesting that God plays a role, albeit large role in my life. But God shouldn’t be a role player, or another component in our lives. God should be our lives. To be a follower of Jesus means that God owns my life. There’s nothing outside of Him. It means giving up ourselves and desiring God’s will above all else.

I don’t want to compartmentalize God. I don’t want to think of Him as separate from any aspect of my life. Instead, as I think through each “priority”, I want to consider how that part of my life is critical to Him. How does He want me to use that part of my life for His glory? When we establish a list of priorities, God is the list, because the whole list comes out of God. My priorities are established through Him. In fact, my prayer is that the list is actually a list of His priorities.

Marriage will test our desire and ability to put God in the center of everything in life. There will be job callings and job problems, a sink full of dishes, a gazillion loads of laundry, and trash bags full of dirty diapers, unpaid bills, lack of sleep to name a few. Although encountering problems in this life will never cease, our lives can be dramatically simplified, purpose-filled, joyful, and effective the moment we begin to live with Jesus as the center of our lives.

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:5-8)

Discussion questions:

  1. How can we put God in the center of our lives?
  2. What are the obstacles to making God the center of our lives?

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