Jesus said to his apostles: “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 up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.””Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple— amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:37-42
Today’s Gospel teaches that we must love God above all else. We should love God more than father, mother, son, or daughter. Jesus is not saying we should diminish our love for family. The only way to truly love others is to love God first. We must ensure that we do not become disordered in our affections and let it replace the ultimate good – God. Reflect today on whether your affections are rightly ordered or do they sometimes compete with the charity God desires to instill in you? If so, then turn you heart to God and seek to love Him above all else. When God is first it will transform you from within enabling you to love others with the very love of Christ.