Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
  and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
 I am the first and I am the last;
  besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
  let them declare and set it forth before me.
 Who has announced from of old the things to come?
  Let them tell us what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid;
  have I not told you from of old and declared it?
  You are my witnesses!
 Is there any god besides me?
  There is no other rock; I know not one. ~ Isaiah 44:6-8
The first and the last, or Alpha and Omega as we are told in Revelation.
That's who God is. Nothing, no one comes before, and nothing, no one comes after.
Is that how it plays out in our daily lives?
Are there things or people or places that we put before God? Things or people or places that are our end stop?
Those are the things, people or places we try to make our gods. And they will always, inevitably, fall short.
Things are temporary. People can, and usually will at some point, let us down.
Places, such are nations or even communities of faith, are complicated and often fraught with underlying problems that will interfere with our being able to depend on them permanently.
It doesn't mean we don't love people or places. Maybe even some things. I even had an abiding love for my stuffed elephant when I was a kid.
We do and can love them.
But before God? If so, we are going to be let down. God is love itself.
The beginning and the ending of it.
What do I put in front of you, O God? Break down the walls I create so that I can recognize your true place in my life. Amen