This article is part of a yearlong series exploring one foundational biblical word each month. This month, we are focusing on LOVE. Subscribe to the Sunday Morning Newsletter and catch up on the entire series at amac.us/faith.
____________________________________________________________________________________
In our previous writings this month, we have seen that love is not a fuzzy feeling or fleeting emotion. It originates with God – because God is love (1 John 4:8). He defines it, and He demonstrates it perfectly in Jesus Christ. We have also seen that love has an objective: agape love is a deliberate choice to seek what is truly best for another, what leads to restoration and true life – even when that path involves discomfort, discipline, or suffering.
Now we must ask: How do we live out this kind of love? The answer begins with priority.
The Priority of Love
Scripture is clear: the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus calls this the first and greatest commandment. The second – love your neighbor as yourself – is like it, but it flows from the first. All other commands hang on these two, with love for God as the supreme priority.
This ordering is essential. Because we are made in God’s image, we are wired for love. We naturally pour affection into family, friends, spouses, children – the people closest to us. These bonds are good gifts from God. But when any human relationship becomes the ultimate allegiance, it distorts love. It turns a gift into an idol. True agape begins with loving God supremely. Only then can we love others as we should.
When Priority Brings a Cost
Jesus did not promise that prioritizing Him would always bring immediate harmony. In fact, He warned of the opposite:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother… and a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:34–38)
Jesus brings a sword – not because He delights in division, but because allegiance to Him demands supremacy. When God’s Word calls one way and human expectations pull another, obedience can strain relationships, invite misunderstanding, or even cause conflict. Oswald Chambers captured this reality: “If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset… We can prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.”
This cost is real, but it is not the end of the story. Prioritizing God is ultimately a test of faith. When obedience strains our closest relationships, we are forced to decide whether we truly believe that God is love – good, wise, and just – even when we cannot see the outcome.
Abraham and Isaac: The Test of Priority
Nowhere is this clearer than in Genesis 22, the account of Abraham and Isaac. God called to Abraham:
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2)
Notice the emphasis: your only son… whom you love. This was no abstract command. Isaac was the child of promise, the one through whom God said nations would be blessed (Genesis 17:19). Abraham had waited decades for him. To sacrifice Isaac seemed to unravel everything God had promised.
Yet Abraham responded, “Here I am.” He rose early, prepared, and journeyed in obedience. When Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham answered in faith, “God will provide for himself the lamb” (Genesis 22:7–8). At the altar, with the knife raised, Abraham prioritized God above his deepest human love and obligation.
God stopped him. A ram was provided instead. Abraham’s faith was proven: he loved God more than the most precious thing in his life. And because he did not withhold his son, God reaffirmed the covenant with greater blessing (Genesis 22:15–18).
Abraham’s obedience cost him emotionally – agony, uncertainty, the risk of relational fallout. But prioritizing God did not destroy love; it redeemed it. God provided, restored, and blessed.
Loving Others from the Right Priority
When we order love correctly – God first – the cost may show up in human relationships. It might mean:
- Speaking biblical truth in family conversations, even when tension follows.
- Refusing to enable destructive behavior for the sake of keeping peace.
- Choosing obedience to Christ over cultural approval or relational comfort.
These choices can feel unloving in the moment. But agape refuses to settle for superficial harmony. It seeks restoration that leads to true life. By loving God supremely, we become capable of loving others His way – pointing them to the Source of life, even when it costs us approval or closeness.
Jesus promises that no one who has left house or family for the sake of the kingdom will fail to receive many times more in this life and eternal life in the age to come (Luke 18:29–30). The cost is real, but the reward is greater.
Love has a priority. And when we honor that priority, it often carries a cost. Yet in God’s hands, that cost becomes the pathway to deeper restoration – for us and for those we love.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being the Source and Definition of love. Forgive us when we elevate human relationships above You. Give us courage to prioritize You above all, trusting Your goodness even when obedience feels costly. Help us love others from this place – seeking their true good, even when it strains ties. Remind us of the cross, where Your priority and cost brought us life. Strengthen us to follow You fully, knowing You provide and redeem.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
____________________________________________________________________________________
This Week’s Daily Scripture Readings (Monday–Saturday)
- Monday: Matthew 22:34–40 – The greatest commandment: love God first.
- Tuesday: Genesis 22:1–14 – Abraham’s test of priority and obedience.
- Wednesday: Matthew 10:34–39 – Jesus brings a sword; love Him more than family.
- Thursday: Luke 14:25–33 – Counting the cost of discipleship.
- Friday: John 14:15, 21 – Obedience as evidence of love for God.
- Saturday: Luke 18:28–30 – The reward for leaving all for the kingdom.
Take a few moments each day to read, reflect, and pray through these passages. Ask the Lord to order your loves rightly and to give you grace for the cost.
Jonathan Griffin, Director of Membership Marketing at AMAC | Former pastor & professor | Current husband & father | Redeemed sinner, saved by grace.
