RIPPLE ANALOGY — Properly Prioritizing Relationships

0:01 Greetings and welcome to this session of 0:04 wisdom forging where you and I engage in 0:06 the ongoing practice of applying 0:08 biblical thinking to deepen our 0:10 understanding of biblical truth. 0:14 Let me briefly explain what I'm going to 0:16 this analogy that I'm going to get into 0:17 in a moment. Um 0:19 I've heard several times people try to 0:22 explain the order of priorities for the 0:25 Christian. you know, make God first, 0:28 then your wife, then your mom, your 0:32 kids, or, you know, some variation of an 0:36 order. They usually sound pretty 0:37 similar. Some people mix up mom and dad 0:40 and kids. Some people put kids first, 0:41 wife second, or husband second. 0:45 I recently heard a little bit different 0:48 take on it. And in spending some time 0:50 reflecting on it, I wrote out this 0:53 analogy that I think helps to 0:57 integrate these two different 0:59 perspectives 1:00 on on this topic um and expand on it a 1:05 little bit. So I want to share that with 1:07 you. Um I'm going to I'm going to read 1:10 through this analogy that I wrote out. 1:15 All people exist as portions of an 1:17 ocean. Using the free will that God gave 1:20 you, allowing him his due honor as the 1:23 first and overarching priority of your 1:26 life, invites his spirit to fall on you 1:29 as rain. This initiates a wave rippling 1:32 in every direction, revealing expanding 1:35 domains of influence as God propagates 1:38 the impact of your relationship with 1:40 him. 1:42 For a married person, the first domain 1:44 includes the two that became one. Then 1:48 the kids, the extended family, friends, 1:52 co-workers, etc. 1:55 Your influence is strongest within your 1:58 wingspan, close to your core. The 2:01 farther out you reach, the more strained 2:04 and offbalance you become. God's reach, 2:08 however, is unlimited. He is the rain 2:12 that reaches over every corner of the 2:14 world. As the rain falls on each portion 2:17 of the ocean, some portions take a 2:20 little notice as they've sunk below the 2:22 surface into the darker depths. However, 2:26 even the darkest depths are susceptible 2:29 to the unseen three-dimensional ripples 2:33 when the impact is sufficiently strong 2:36 or the surface yields to its influence. 2:40 Prioritize God over and above everything 2:44 and everyone in your life without 2:47 exception. And you will be amazed as you 2:51 witness every other responsibility and 2:53 relationship that you have fall into 2:56 place. 2:59 There may be people that seem outside 3:01 your reach, uh, your sphere of 3:03 influence, but if you deal rightly with 3:06 those within your reach, and they do the 3:09 same, an act of love can reach around 3:13 the world. 3:16 Applying the word of God can be 3:17 challenging, but the fruit is always 3:21 worth the effort in eternity. I hope the 3:24 way I've presented this call 3:27 um 3:29 to understand your responsibilities and 3:32 the way that your relationship with God 3:34 can ripple out into the world around you 3:36 encourages genuine dialogue both private 3:40 and public rather than merely passive 3:43 media consumption where you just listen 3:44 to me and then you go on and forget 3:47 about everything that I just talked 3:49 about. 3:51 You're welcome to like and subscribe or 3:53 not at any time. Like and subscribe is 3:56 what drives media algorithms, 3:59 but the word of God is what drives me. 4:01 And that's what I want to pass on. 4:03 May the Lord bless you