The last couple of Sundays, the worship team has led us in the song Nothing Else. As I’ve listened and sung this song, God has used it to speak to me. I sing that I need nothing else but Jesus, but am I living like that is true?
Let’s look at our relationship with Jesus through the lens of marriage.
Marriage is interesting, is it not? Because in marriage, you decide to spend your entire life with one person. We all know what happens when we’re around one person too much though right. That person gets the
worst of us and we get the worst of them, you vent to each other, you can be frustrated with each other, you argue over the dumbest things and yet you still love each other.
Marriage is “I do” forever. It’s I choose you, forever. I want no one else but you.
Imagine, when we got married. We’re like “I do,” then on the honeymoon, we’re like “Hey, I’ll be back in a bit. I have a date with Brittany.” Y’all I wouldn’t come back. She’d kill me. Because marriage is one man for one woman forever. If you say, yeah, I want you and
three other people. Then that’s not marriage. You can’t be married to your spouse and date other people.
We’re told in scripture that we are the bride of Christ. If you’re married to Jesus, you can’t keep dating the world. Yet, here we are still dating and flirting with sin, still dating temptations and
hanging out with our addictions. We’re in an uncommitted relationship.
The main chorus of the song says,
“I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else
Nothing else will do
I just want You.”
I wish that were true, even for myself today. I want Jesus, I’m committed to Jesus but the things of this world often steal my attention. Even things that aren’t wrong, aren’t bad, I’m allowed to do them, yet I can allow them to control my time and attention.
Imagine, I’m married but I also like golf. Is there anything wrong with golf? Nope. Golf is good and healthy.
However, imagine that I spend seven days a week on the greens and I golf for hours at a time while my wife is home alone with kids. Is that healthy? Is that honoring to my spouse? No, it is not. It’s very unhealthy, I’m not giving my spouse what I promised her.
It may not be directly sinful but if anything hinders our relationship with Jesus, it is unhealthy and we must gain control of it. When we chose to follow Jesus, we chose Him over everything. We must live like that is still the case.
In Luke 14, Jesus turns to a large crowd and says this:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person
cannot be my disciple.
At face value, this statement is like.. what? Jesus says I should hate my mom and dad. But doesn’t like the 10 commandments say that I should love them?
Let’s look at the context for a moment. I would encourage you to never read a single bible verse. A single verse of the bible can be completely misinterpreted to mean nearly whatever you want. Look at the context.
In the very next verse Jesus, still speaking to the crowds and His disciples, says And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
He then goes into a metaphor about a man who is building a house but doesn’t calculate the costs to finish the house, he is then unable to complete it and has to abandon it. He leaves the house unfinished
because he cannot pay what is required. Jesus’ illustration helps explain His difficult statement we read about hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and even ourselves. We must consider the
cost of being a follower of Jesus.
The word used here for hate is accurately translated but in Hebrew was used as more of a comparison term. The contrast between “love” and “hatred” is used to communicate preference. So the word hated here
didn’t mean emotional hatred but a preference of one over the other.
Meaning, we are to love Jesus so much that in comparison to how much we love Jesus we hate everything else. I love my family but Jesus is first. I love my wife and children but Jesus is first. I love my own life but I love Jesus more.
We should love Jesus so much that we want “Nothing Else.”
We are called to love Jesus so much that we pick up our cross and carry it. We love Jesus so much that we say no to what we want, what we think will make us happy, what the rest of the world is doing and we say Yes to His will.
We love Jesus so much that in comparison to how much we love Him, we hate everything else. Even our own self.
That’s what He did for us. In comparison to how much Jesus loved you and me, He hated His own life. So much that even though He prayed and pleaded for the cross to pass from Him, He took His place on the cross
because of how much He loves you. Not because you are good or always do what is right but because of who you are.
No wood, steel, or soldiers were strong enough to keep Jesus on a cross, it was only His love for you. Show that same love in return, choose Jesus over everything. Live like you need “Nothing Else” but Jesus!
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