Dear Church, Let’s Lay Aside Lesser Loves
If Christ alone can satisfy a longing heart, we need your help to believe this.
Sometimes it feels like marriage is the better answer. Or children. Or a higher paycheck. Or job security. Those things are often set out as the ultimate reward for those who follow Christ. But my marriage crashed and burned, and I don’t always know where I fit when we begin talking about God’s blessings. Is marriage a reward for good Christians, and the lack of it a punishment for those of us who just can’t get things right?
We both know that’s not true.
But if I’m being honest, sometimes it feels true, and I struggle to believe what God says in his Word—that the love of Christ alone can truly satisfy my heart.
Will you help me believe the truth? The best way you can do that is by striving to know and love Christ above all else yourself. Above marriage or parenthood or your well-paying job. We are all on level ground here, aren’t we? We all need to know Jesus is enough.
It’s a struggle to live this out. It certainly is for me. This is why we need one another so very much. We need to be in the Word together. We need to worship together. We need to pray together. We need to wrestle with our doubts and questions together. We need to walk beside one another through valley seasons. We need to pursue holiness together. We need to lament and grieve the good gifts we want so badly but don’t have. We need to point one another to the best gift of all–Jesus, the only One who truly satisfies.
As we all strive to lay aside lesser loves, even good ones that reflect the One who is True Love Himself, let’s seek to spur one another on. Let’s remember together that Christ is enough. In every way, enough. Your love for Jesus moves me to love him more. Let’s press on together…
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:7-9).