How Important is God to You, & How Important Are You to God?

A Love That Transforms

In the busyness of modern life, it's easy to lose sight of what truly matters. We fill our days with work, responsibilities, relationships, and countless distractions. Yet, amidst all this, there remains a question of eternal significance: How important is God to you? And perhaps even more remarkably: How important are you to God?

These two questions are intimately connected, forming the very heart of the Christian faith. Our relationship with God isn't a one-sided affair where we merely acknowledge His existence from a distance. Rather, it's a deeply personal, reciprocal relationship where the our Heavenly Father invites us into intimate fellowship with Him.

Examining Our Priorities

Jesus asked a penetrating question: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26 KJV). This question forces us to evaluate our priorities. What occupies the central place in our hearts? What do we think about most? What drives our decisions?

The first and greatest commandment provides the standard: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37 KJV). This isn't a suggestion for partial commitment or casual interest. God desires—and deserves—the entirety of our being. He isn't content with merely being part of our lives; He must be the very centre around which everything else revolves.

Yet, if we're honest, how many of us can say that God truly occupies this primary place? Do we seek Him first, or do we fit Him in around our other commitments? Jesus warned, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24 KJV).

God's Immeasurable Love for You

Whilst we wrestle with how important God should be to us, the Scriptures reveal an astonishing truth: you are supremely important to God. This isn't based on any merit of your own, but flows from His unfathomable love.

The Gospel of John declares, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 KJV). Think carefully about this: the eternal God, who lacks nothing and needs nothing, chose to send His Son to die for you. This is the measure of your worth to Him—not because of what you've done, but because of who He is.

The Apostle Paul marvelled at this love: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 KJV). God didn't wait for you to become worthy. He didn't require you to clean yourself up first. Whilst you were still in rebellion, Christ died for you. This demonstrates that your value to God isn't contingent upon your performance.

Furthermore, God knows you intimately. David wrote, "O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1-2 KJV). He knows every detail of your life—your struggles, your fears, your secret hopes—and He loves you still.

The Cost of Our Redemption

To understand how important you are to God, consider what He paid to redeem you. Peter wrote, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19 KJV).

Nothing less than the blood of God's perfect Son could purchase your salvation. This wasn't a trivial transaction. The agony of the cross, where Jesus bore the full weight of divine wrath against sin, reveals the depth of God's commitment to you. As Isaiah prophesied, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5 KJV).

Responding to God's Love

Understanding how much we matter to God should transform how we prioritise Him in our lives. John wrote, "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19 KJV). Our love for God is a response to His initiating love towards us.

When we grasp the magnitude of what God has done, lukewarm devotion becomes impossible. Jesus rebuked the church at Laodicea: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16 KJV). God desires passionate devotion, not casual acknowledgment.

Making God a priority means seeking Him daily through prayer and His Word. As Jesus taught, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33 KJV). When God takes His rightful place at the centre of our lives, everything else falls into proper perspective.

The Eternal Perspective

How important is God to you? The answer to this question has eternal consequences. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33 KJV).

Our relationship with God isn't merely about this temporal life; it determines our eternal destiny. Paul reminded us, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV).

Living Out Our Answer

The question "How important is God to you?" isn't answered primarily with words, but with our lives. James wrote, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22 KJV). Our daily choices, our use of time, our financial decisions, our relationships—all these reveal what we truly treasure.

Jesus taught, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21 KJV). What occupies your thoughts? What captures your affections? What motivates your actions? These questions reveal where your treasure truly lies.

The beautiful paradox of Christianity is this: as we come to understand how infinitely important we are to God, we're compelled to make Him increasingly important to us. His lavish love doesn't leave us unchanged; it transforms us from the inside out.

God's Word assures us, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39 KJV).

You are eternally important to God. The question that remains is: How important is He to you? Will you give Him the wholehearted devotion He deserves and desires? Will you respond to His immeasurable love with a life fully surrendered to His purposes?

Today is the day to answer these questions—not merely with words, but with your whole life…

Key Takeaways:

• God deserves first place in every part of our lives — "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" [Matthew 22:37 KJV]
• We are supremely important to God — He proved it by giving His Son for us [John 3:16 KJV]
• Our value to God is not based on our performance, but on His unfailing love [Romans 5:8 KJV]
• Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus [Romans 8:38-39 KJV]
• True devotion is shown by how we live, not merely what we say [James 1:22 KJV]