Red Wednesday's Wisdom - First

As I contemplated on this being the first month of a New Year, I was amused by the word first as I thought about it from a personal perspective. I am the first of four children. Therefore, I was the first one to attempt new skills and achieve developmental milestones. It explains why I have always had a drive to be first. And because I was the first born, there was an expectation to be the example, the leader, the one to look up to. Consequently, I think it is why I still find myself wanting to be the first at things, like waiting in a line for example. Or I like being the first one to be waited on in a restaurant. I would like to sit in a first class seat on an airplane so I could be treated to the first class service they get up there, but, it is not in my budget. It’s hard to learn humility when you have gotten used to the idea of being first! And even when I get out of bed in the morning and make my way downstairs to the kitchen, it is pretty apparent about what comes first in my life. All I have to do is to look around at the activity that I have been engaged in, and that tells me what I choose to make first.

Who would I say is first in my life? Hands down it would be God. But do I always begin the first part of my day acknowledging Him with my quiet time? To be honest, not always. There are times when my attention is first given to a family member before I give it to God. I can be more concerned about first answering the call to paperwork before I answer the call from God. And despite my weakened moments to not put God first, God continues to put me first. This is so evident in the Scripture found in 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest.” How awesome it is to know that God proved He was God by being the First to resurrect Himself from the dead. And just as He raised Himself, you and I are also going to be raised from the dead if we choose to make Him first in our lives.

God is the epitome and the ultimate example of being First. Unlike me who has associated being first with what I expect or am deserving of, God’s perspective has quite a different slant. “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last.” Isaiah 48: 12. God is not demanding. He is simply saying “Listen, you are my family, I chose you. You are on this earth because of my love for you. I am the One who created you! I want you to know that everything in your life begins and ends with Me. There is no other God but Me.” God knows everything because He is the First and the Last, the Past and the Future.

In this New Year, it is my prayer that we all have a deeper desire to put God first. God loves relationship and that is why He wants us to be in relationship with him! One of my favorite songs is called “On Eagle’s Wings.” It is based on Psalm 91 and it is such a great depiction of just how much God truly loves us and wants to care for us.