First Love

Love is a great feeling, sometimes indescribable.

Remember your first love? How you would swoon at the mere sight of your love; how hours spent with him (her) seemed like only minutes; how you could not get enough of each other’s company and wished you were joined at the hip; how you could not wait to see him (her) and any time apart felt unbearable. You could walk down the street hand in hand for hours and not even realize your feet hurt. You did not care how much you spent on him (her) and lavished gifts on each other without counting the cost! What a joy to love and be loved.

Do you remember how it was when you first came to Jesus?

You felt like you were on cloud nine. You never missed your morning devotion, could not get enough of the Bible, could not wait to go to church on Sunday (in fact you laid out your clothes on Saturday), you gave generously and paid your tithes faithfully. You were the first at any worship event and was not ashamed to let others know you had Jesus and they needed Him too. As a matter of fact, nothing gave you more joy than being in the presence of God.

Somewhere along the line complacency began to set in, a lack of zeal gripped you and gradually you stopped doing all you used to do out of love for Jesus or you still do them but more out of a sense of duty than love and devotion. Your love is waxing cold. You have forsaken your first love. The church in Ephesus found themselves in a similar situation. Though they were still doing some good things Jesus sent the angel to warn them about their lack of zeal or fervor for Him. Revelation 2:4, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

I will entreat you to examine your relationship with Christ and see whether or not you have left your first love.

Are you as committed and devoted to Him as you were in the beginning?

A lot of things happen along our love journey with Christ but we know that God is faithful and does not change through the “changing scenes of life”. No matter what has happened to you on this journey God has remained the same and His promises are still sure. Let us not allow anything to separate us from the love of God. Like Paul let us be persuaded that “…that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ” Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38‭-‬39).

I will leave a checklist (by no means exhaustive) below and we can all use it to examine whether we have left or in the process of leaving our first love.

1. No strong desire to spend time with Him either in prayer or through bible study. These have become a chore.
2. You would rather spend time with friends or at other events than spend time in His presence.
3. You do not enjoy worship time and just go through the motions; in fact you find yourself enjoying secular music more and more.
4. You are not moved to give sacrificially for kingdom work anymore.
5. You serve in church so as to impress or because you are expected to, not out of love for Christ.
6. You are no longer moved by the word of God and are indifferent towards sin. In fact you justify sins you once abhorred.

For an even longer list, review Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth article on 40 Evidences That You May Have Left Your First Love.

If you find yourself here, Jesus offers you a chance to return to your first love, “remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…” Revelation 2:5.

Blessings.

Love, Lady Monica