WHO'S ON FIRST?
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Have you ever had anyone tell you, “God needs to be first in your life”? This may shock you, but I have a problem with this statement. For me, God is everything, not just first! He’s “my all in all,” Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8) and everything in between! And from Him flows “living water” (John 4:10-14) and all that is good in my life.
Maybe this is just nitpicking over words, but God as “first” seems limiting to me. If God is “first,” how much do I have left over (praise, love, money) to give to what is “second” and “third” place in my life? And, to my mind, it relegates God to a locked-in place, albeit the “top” position. What if on a bad day, I strike out and let God slip to second or even fourth place? Did Jesus take first place? No, He took the “lowest” place as a servant washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:3-17). Some days Jesus washes my feet, too.
When I think of God as “everything,” He is expansive, all over the place, in everything, in all my circumstances, on top of and under everything. There is no place He can’t be (Ps. 139: 7-12). I am not talking about pantheism (a belief that identifies God with the universe or nature). I am referring to Him as Almighty God, the Omnipresent (all-present) and Omniscient (all-knowing) God who knows when I lie down, the One who knows all my thoughts.
God is the Holy One who loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for us. The Message Bible says it this way, “God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again (John 3:16, 17)."
God as “everything” reminds me that no matter how bad things look in the world, God is still in control. “He is before all things, above all things, and in Him all things hold together (John 3:31a, Colossians 1:17)." When God is "everything," all that flows from His hand is "gift" whether it brings laughter or tears.
And guess what, team? We're all gonna win! In Him, we are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37).
