I once heard the tale of a talented and gifted bloodhound in England that started a hunt by chasing a full-grown male deer. During the chase a fox crossed his path, so he began to chase the fox. A rabbit crossed his hunting path, so he began to chase the rabbit. After chasing the rabbit for a while, a tiny field mouse crossed his path, and he chased the mouse to the corner of a farmer’s barn. The bloodhound had begun the hunt chasing a prized male deer for his master and wound-up barking at a tiny mouse. *

You may be thinking, “That bloodhound needs to be trained!”  But aren’t we humans guilty of getting side-tracked all too often?

As the saying goes, we need to “keep first things first.”

What’s at the top of the lists of the “firsts” upon which we need to focus?

Jesus said,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (the necessities of life) shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.” – Matthew 22:37-38

We need to heed Jesus’ words.  “The way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).  We need guidance – specifically God’s guidance!

Why is it so important to love God first and to seek first His kingdom?  These are keys to our salvation and receiving the gift of eternal life.

Doing things “our way” leads to disappointment and disaster.  But putting “first things first,” as Jesus instructs, leads to life – abundant life now and eternal life to come.

When we recognize how much God loves us, it is not difficult to love Him supremely and seek His kingdom as top priority.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Christ died for us so that we can be saved from sin and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Stephen Covey wrote: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  Let’s do that.  Let’s keep first things first by loving God supremely and demonstrating that love by seeking to live under His rule.  Won’t YOU?

-- David A. Sargent

* Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection, www.Sermons.com, as qtd. in www.thedisciplers.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

Archived issues of Living Water can be viewed and accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org