What does it mean to put Christ first?
We are encouraged to live Christ-centered lives, but what exactly does that mean?
Putting Christ first in our lives means that we strive every day to be more like Him in our thoughts and actions. It means that we sacrifice our time to do things that He asks. When we center our lives on Christ, we make following Him and His teaching our top priorities.
Life gets hectic and busy, and we all have many demands on our time and lots of things that require our attention and thought. It can be easy to get distracted by everyday things and lose our focus on Christ.
What can we do to center our lives on Christ?
In Alma 37:6 it says, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” There are many small and simple things we can do to live a more Christ-centered life. These are a few ideas that can help create habits to bring us closer to Christ.
Blessings and gratitude journal
One small way to focus more on Christ is to keep a journal of blessings and gratitude. Taking a moment at the end of each day to write at least three blessings or things to be grateful for from the day can help us recognize God’s hand in our lives. The more we notice our blessings, the more gratitude we will feel, which will help us love God more and make us more like Christ.
Look at others through Christ’s eyes
There is a lot of controversy in our world, and along with it comes disagreement and negative feelings. At times it can be difficult to see people we dislike or disagree with as precious children of God. Jesus Christ loves us all, and a small way that we can become more like Him is to try to always see others as He does. It is a small change, but it requires great conscious effort. Any time you make eye contact with another person, think, “They are a child of God.” As you make that effort, in time it will become a habit, and seeing others with love, despite controversy, helps us to be more Christ-centered.
This is also an important principle to apply to family, friends, and other people we are close to. Making greater efforts to show our love to them and taking steps back to try and better understand their emotions or struggles helps us to be closer to and more like the Savior.
Take note of when you feel close to the Savior
We are all different, and as such, we all feel close to the Savior in different ways and have different things that help us be more like Him. Make a conscious effort to notice times, places, and actions where you are feeling closer to the Savior. Write them down, if it helps. When you are feeling down or far from God, or you just want to do more good, referring back to your list and doing the things that help you will bring you closer to Christ and help you be more like Him.
God gave us moral agency so we could make choices and take action in our lives. The only way we can center our lives on Christ is if we choose to take small actions to come closer to Him! He is always waiting and encouraging us. We just need to take the first steps.