The Joy of the Journey: Jesus First

The Joy of the Journey

Jesus First

Our lives are filled with distractions, relationships, ambitions, and pursuits that compete for our hearts; there is one call that stands supreme: to love Jesus above all. As believers, our relationship with Jesus must not only be central, but it must also be the center of everything. He must be the love of our lives. Scripture repeatedly reveals that our affections, loyalty, and deepest desires should belong to Christ.

Jesus Himself declared the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This was not a new commandment, but a fulfillment of what God had already spoken through the Law (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus made clear that to follow Him is not merely to obey externally but to give Him our hearts fully.

Loving Jesus above all else is the true mark of a disciple. In Luke 14:26, Jesus states, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” This is not a literal call to hate, but a comparative one—our love for Christ should so surpass all other loves that, by comparison, they seem like hate. It’s a radical call, but it is the essence of wholehearted devotion.

Why must Jesus be the love of our lives? Because He first loved us. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This sacrificial love is unlike any human love. It is perfect, undeserved, and eternal. To respond to such a love with anything less than our full devotion is to miss the beauty of grace.

Furthermore, Jesus is not merely a Savior from sin; He is our joy and treasure. In Matthew 13:44, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Knowing Christ is worth the loss of everything else. Paul echoes this in Philippians 3:8: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

When Jesus is the love of our lives, it transforms everything—our relationships, ambitions, and daily decisions. It fuels obedience not out of obligation, but out of love. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This is not a burdensome command but a natural response to love. Love empowers faithfulness.

To love Jesus with all our heart also means to abide in Him. In John 15:4–5, Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.” This abiding is not a momentary emotion but a lifelong communion with Christ. It is loving Him in word, action, and thought.

Finally, loving Jesus means longing for His return. The apostle Paul writes about “all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). Those who genuinely love Jesus yearn for His presence, not only spiritually now but physically in eternity. Revelation 22:20 declares, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

So let us be challenged to examine our hearts truly. Do we love Him more than anything or anyone else? Is He the treasure we live for, the joy we cling to, the Savior we adore? Let us echo Peter’s words: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Everything else in our lives must flow from a deep, committed, surrendered life to the love of Jesus!  We can never truly be satisfied with anything unless the love of Christ is first in our lives and everything else second. Those who understand this have found the true meaning of love.