Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That’s an age old question I’m sure you’ve heard many times. People love to debate philosophical questions like that and of course there’s always someone who’s convinced he or she knows the right answer. What do I think the correct response is? I’m always partial to the cartoon that shows a chicken reading a dictionary who says, “I knew it – chicken does come first!”
I’ve been thinking about this ontological conundrum in the context of our theme for this school year “Love First” based on Romans 5:8. When it comes to the subject of love, we’ll find a much easier answer to where love comes from, who loved first, and how we’re able to share it with others. 1 John 4:19 tells us that “We love because He first loved us.” Which came first, God’s love or ours? That’s an easy one! Sometimes we like to think we love well because we’re sensitive, thoughtful, empathetic, or just very in tune with the feelings of others. But that’s not really true. Without God’s love that came to us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross we’re just hopelessly selfish sinful people. However, we’ve been set free from sin and empowered to love because God loved us first. So, the next time someone asks you “Which came first the chicken or the egg” tell them “God’s love always comes first”. That will blow their mind 🙂