“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
Remember the height from which you have fallen!
Repent and do the things you did at first.”
(Revelation 2:4-5)
Thoughts… Like the love of a husband and wife that grows cold through the years, so a church can grow cold in their love for the Lord. That would certainly hold true for individual believers as well.
You can do all the right things—go to church, sing in the choir, give in the offering, teach a Sunday School class, participate in an outreach, share your faith—yet not be head-over-heels in love with Jesus like you were when he first redeemed you. Your actions are there. Your head is there. But your heart isn’t! It’s not like you hate God, or are angry with him. It’s not even that you ignore him or are indifferent to him. You just have not kept loving him as the number one priority.
Here’s the deal: God wants your heart more than anything else. So what can you do if passionate love for the Lord has waned in your walk with him? Jesus gave John the cure in verse 5:
First, you must remember what it was like when Jesus first found you! Remember the passion, the energy, the willingness, the excitement you had for the Lord in those days. You were consumed with him. Jesus calls you to literally bring that back to mind and dwell on it until you long for the thrill of those days once again.
Second, you must repent! You have forsaken your number one priority: To nurture a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. To neglect that is a sin, an offense to the One who loved you so much that he gave his life to redeem you. Allow sorrow over grieving him to fill your heart. Ask him to forgive you, and then make a 180-degree turn in your present behavior so as to live in congruence with your prayer of repentance.
And three, return to the things you did at first. Rediscover the joy and thrill that you once knew in walking with Jesus. Go to church with an attitude of anticipation. Enter into worship with joy. Express your love to God with passion. Share you faith with the lost. Serve the poor. Give generously. Act like you are in love with Jesus, and soon you will feel love for Jesus like you did at first.
The Lord wants your love more than anything else. Love him first. Love him early and often. Love him again as you did at first. Love him above all else, and everything else will fall into place.
Prayer… Jesus, I do love you. However, I have taken you for granted. I have often been more engaged in doing things for you than in loving you. Forgive me. With the help of your Holy Spirit, I will keep my love for you as the first and highest priority of my life.
One More Thing… “If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.” —C.S. Lewis (in a letter addressed to a child one month before his death)
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