You can be first after me.

     I've just described heavy commuting in many cities around the world.  But this doesn't stop at commuting.  It happens in restaurants, grocery stores, sporting events, black Friday sales, and quite a few other places and events.  You won't find this happening in some other venue's.  For instance, no one is fighting to be first to do the dishes, wash the car, weed the garden, volunteer time, or even to get into church.  The one group of activities and locations in effect bring upon us stress, burnout and frustration.  The second group brings about relaxation, enjoyment and a sense of fulfillment.  "You can be first after me." is a quote from a children's Christian movie about penguins, two kids and travels to a planet where vacuum cleaners live.  So, the message in the movie was and remains it is better to let someone else go first for your sake and theirs.  Kids don't do this well and adults do an even worse job of letting others go first.
     There is a Biblical principle that encompasses this phrase.  Don't be shocked, taken aback or even offended when you read this.  You have to be first before you can put anyone else first.  Confused?  The Bible tells us that we need to be born again in order to receive the love of God.  Without this event in our lives we do not have the love of God and cannot give it to anyone.  We can tell people about the love of God and never have had or found it for ourselves.  When we understand that in order to give others the love of God we need to receive it ourselves then we are ready to go onto step two.  The love of God cannot be measured, put within a vessel, or otherwise imagined in our finite brains.  We can only give away that which we have received.  Step number two is understanding that we can only give away that which we receive.  It's a common principle in the world as well.  I cannot give you my neighbors house.  He cannot give you my house.  I can give away my house to whomever I desire.  He can do the same with his.  I can give away only that which is mine.  Sounds rather selfish doesn't it.
     In order to pass on the love of God we must first recognize that we don't have it.  We realize that we are dead and need to be brought to life by turning our lives over to Jesus.  The more we turn over, the more we make room for the love of God.  The more love of God we have, the more we can give to someone else.  The more we give to someone else the greater the chance of them too choosing Jesus as their Savior.  When they begin the process for themselves, the cycle is repeated.  When the cycle is repeated on a big scale the world is changed.  Some people say they have the love of God but no one else can see it.  Some say they have the love of God and that is all you can see.  Why the big difference?  Because we are still retaining areas of our lives where we put ourselves first and everyone can be first after us.  Where is your life in regards to this proposal?
     Scripture tells us that we have free will, intelligence, and the capacity to love.  All are based first on the act of taking something we did not deserve, we did not earn, and we did not previously want.  Etiology is the study of first things or first causes.  Learning that we are dead and unable to do anything on our own to become live leaves us with the first selfish choice.  We can choose to remain dead or we can choose to become alive.  The second selfish choice is to realize that the "love" of the world and the "love" of God are two very different entities.  The first being no love at all and the second being the purest form of love.  When we choose one we choose death.  When we choose the other we choose life.  When we choose life God opens his love to us and we can receive however much we want.  That amount depends on how much of our dead life we are willing to give up...to die to.  When we have received that which we didn't deserve through the grace of Christ we are now equipped to love and to share that love with others.  When I receive my "daily bread" I am able to share that bread with others.  When I don't receive that bread I have nothing to give to others.
     You can be first after me.