God makes life better? Or God is better than life?

Think carefully.

You can't pick both. Neither can you lie about which option you have chosen, because eventually, your life—and your relationship with God—will betray your answer.

So, let me ask the question again:

Is Jesus Christ your Lord, or is He merely your Savior?

This question must be considered in absolute terms, with due regard for what each position actually means.

If Jesus is merely your Savior, you may want what He can do for you. You may want the healing, the provision, the breakthrough, the protection, the beautiful family, the good marriage, the successful career, the children, the comfort and the blessings.

But if Jesus is truly your Lord, then there is a deeper position to occupy.

It means that even when the blessing does not come, He is still God.

Even when the prayer is delayed, He is still God.

Even when life does not look better, He is still better than life.

“Remember Lot's Wife”

One of the most striking references Jesus made regarding an individual from the past was when He said: “Remember Lot's wife.” — Luke 17:32.

That was a warning. But what exactly was Jesus warning us about? Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Hmm? Is that enough? Is the physical act of looking backwards really the entire lesson? I don't think so. There is something deeper here.

To understand the warning, we need to look beyond the physical motion and consider what her looking back represented: a heart that was still attached to what God was delivering her from.

She was leaving Sodom physically, but was her heart willing to leave Sodom spiritually? That is the question.

When God Is Not Enough

Lot was Abraham's nephew. After Abraham and Lot became prosperous, their households became too large for them to continue living together peacefully. Their herdsmen began to quarrel. Abraham, the elder, allowed Lot to choose where he wanted to go.

Lot looked toward the fertile plain of the Jordan and saw that it was well watered. It appeared advantageous. It looked like a blessing. So he chose the land that looked better.

What seemed like Lot making the first choice about which part to take, about the proximity to the neighbouring city of Sodom and flanked on the other side by the river Jordan, he was displaying the immaturity of his relationship with God, masked as a means to bringing peace between his men and his uncle’s.

And there is something important here. Lot considered the gift before considering the Giver.

Abraham, on the other hand, was prepared to trust God with whatever came next. That is spiritual maturity.

Unbeknownst to the spiritually immature Lot, Abraham actually made the first choice. He chose God first, meaning that wherever life took him, or whatever plot of land he got, as long as God was with him, he had no needs nor worries. He then gave Lot a chance to make a ‘false first choice,’ which was really the second choice.

Lot did not consider God’s place in his movement, so he picked what his level of spiritual maturity considered a blessing or advantageous. He picked his ultimate dilemma. Lot believed in God, so why did his choice fall through? He did what most immature Christians do. He focused on the gift, not the giver.

Abraham understood something Lot had not yet fully understood: If God is with you, you are not disadvantaged. You don't have to manipulate the outcome. You don't have to secure the best-looking option. You don't have to choose what appears most prosperous simply because it looks like a blessing. You can choose God first.

The Danger of Focusing on the Gift Instead of the Giver

This is where many Christians find themselves. We believe in God. We pray to God. We attend church. We read the Bible. We ask God for blessings. But do we love God Himself, or, put differently; do we love God primarily because of what He gives and not for He Himself?

There is a difference. At no point should we value the blessing above the Blesser.

And this is one of the great tests of spiritual maturity. Can you still worship God when the blessing is delayed? Can you still trust Him when the answer is no? Can you still say, “Lord, You are good,” when your circumstances are anything but good? Can you reach the point where God Himself is enough? That is the aspiration.

Abraham and the Test of Loving God above the Gift

Consider Abraham.

God promised him a son, and Abraham waited years for that promise to be fulfilled. Then, when Isaac finally came, God tested Abraham by asking him to offer Isaac. The issue was not simply whether Abraham loved Isaac.

The deeper issue was whether Isaac had become more important to Abraham than God. Abraham had to demonstrate that the gift would never replace the Giver. That is a difficult place to reach.

It is easy to say, “I love God.” It is much harder to demonstrate that love when God asks us to surrender the very thing we waited years to receive. Abraham's faith had matured to the point where he trusted God beyond the gift. God was better than the promise.

Lot Had Grown, but His Household Was Not Necessarily Ready

Lot's story is also interesting because Scripture gives indications that his relationship with God developed over time.

Lot went on and married his own kind; she believed in God for the beautiful things of life and the gifts that came forthwith. Her reverence for God was up for questioning.

Lot's capture and saving by the intervention of Abraham caused a spiritual growth in him, something that he couldn't transfer to his wife. She needed to attain it herself. Spiritual growth cannot simply be transferred from one person to another.

How do we know that he grew spiritually? Well, when the men of Sodom and Gomorrah came demanding Lot's guests, the angels. He displayed a level of spiritual maturity he had not possessed earlier by offering his daughters in place of the angels. In other words, he considered that, come what may, God is better than anything or anyone in this life. God is better than life.

However, Lot’s spiritual experience was his own. His wife had to make her own decision about God. We can't say the same for her. She pondered her life of affluence, if she had to leave and start over again. To her, God makes life better; why then should she lose the good life that she had been blessed with?

Hence, she looked back, her eyes were never on God Himself. She depicted her level of spiritual maturity by being focused on the wrong thing. And when the angels instructed them to leave Sodom and not look back, Lot's wife looked back.

This is not a mere physical motion, but a spiritual longing for the adversary from whence one had been saved, even after having encountered God in the form of the angels. In Scriptural terms, willful sin after receiving the truth means there is no redemption.

Jesus later used her as a warning. Why? Because the issue was more than turning her head. Her heart was still looking backwards.

“God Makes Life Better” vs. “God Is Better Than Life”

This brings us back to the question. Do you believe: “God makes life better”? Or do you believe: “God is better than life”?

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that God makes life better. He does.

He gives good gifts. He answers prayers. He restores. He provides. He heals. He opens doors. He gives us joy. But what happens when He doesn't?

What happens when the marriage doesn't happen? What happens when the child is delayed? What happens when the business fails? What happens when the healing doesn't come in the way you expected? What happens when God says wait? What happens when He says no?

This is where our theology meets our reality.

If God is only valuable because He makes our lives better, then when life becomes difficult, our relationship with Him becomes vulnerable. But if God Himself is better than life, then even in difficulty, we have something that cannot be taken away.

When the Blessing Becomes the Idol

Sometimes the greatest danger is not rejecting God. It is loving God's gifts more than God Himself.

The Israelites experienced this repeatedly. God delivered them from Egypt. He provided food. He provided water. He protected them. He led them. Yet they repeatedly looked back toward Egypt.

Why? Because freedom with God sometimes looked less attractive than slavery with familiar comforts. That is a dangerous spiritual condition. They had been delivered from Egypt, but Egypt had not completely been delivered from their hearts.

And isn't that sometimes our story? God brings us out, but we keep looking back. God closes a door, but we keep trying to reopen it. God removes something, but we spend our lives asking Him to give it back.

God says, “Follow Me,” but we ask, “What will I get if I do?”

God's Gifts Are Not a Measure of His Love

Scripture reminds us that our righteousness cannot save us.

Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteousness is like filthy rags. Our own efforts can never establish the righteousness that God requires. That is why Christ matters.

Our salvation is not a reward for our performance. It is a gift of grace through Jesus Christ.

The Passover also gives us a powerful picture of this. The Israelites were instructed to place the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, and the blood marked them out for deliverance from judgment.

The ultimate fulfilment of that picture is found in Christ—the Lamb of God, whose blood brings redemption and forgiveness.

So God's relationship with us is not based on our ability to earn His love. It is grounded in His grace. And because He has loved us beyond our failures, our response should be to love Him beyond His gifts.

Can You Love God When He Says No?

This may be one of the hardest questions of faith. Can you love God when He says no? Can you worship when you don't understand? Can you trust when you cannot see? Can you remain faithful when the blessing you prayed for goes to someone else?

Can you say:

“God, I wanted the gift, but I still choose You”?

That is where faith grows beyond convenience. That is where Christianity moves beyond transaction. That is where Jesus stops being merely your Savior and becomes your Lord.

God Is Better Than Life

We should aspire to reach the place where we can honestly say: God is better than anything He can give me.

Better than the house.

Better than the husband.

Better than the wife.

Better than the children.

Better than the career.

Better than the money.

Better than the healing.

Better than the breakthrough.

Better than the answered prayer.

Better than the good life.

God is better than life itself.

This does not mean that we should despise the blessings God gives us. Far from it.

It means we should never allow the blessings to become more important than the One who gave them.

Because God's gifts are expressions of His love—not replacements for His presence.

So, as you walk through this life, ask yourself honestly:

If God never gave me another thing, would He still be enough?

If the answer is yes, then perhaps you are beginning to understand what it means to say:

“God is better than life.”

And that, my friend, is where true spiritual maturity begins.

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A Prayer to Love God Above His Gifts

Heavenly Father,

Teach me to love You for who You are, not merely for what You can give me. Forgive me for the times I have placed Your blessings, answers, and promises above You.

Help me to trust You when life is beautiful and when it is difficult; when You say yes and when You say no; when I understand and when I do not.

Lord, let my heart never become so attached to a blessing that I lose sight of the One who gave it. Give me the faith of Abraham—to trust You with everything—and the wisdom to keep my eyes fixed on You rather than on what I have left behind.

May I reach the place where I can sincerely say, “Even if You give me nothing more, You are still enough.”

Be my Lord, not merely my Savior. Be better to me than every blessing, every achievement, and every comfort this life can offer.

Teach me to choose You first, trust You completely, and worship You always.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.