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First Love
By Amber | November 19, 2008
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
-Revelation 2:4
I fell in love with Jesus at the tender age of five. With as much Bible knowledge as my little mind could understand, I knew Jesus loved me and I wanted to love Him back.
In kindergarten I had uncharacteristic boldness when talking about Jesus. I happily raised my hand to suggest “Jesus” as a “J” word when we got to that letter in the alphabet. I raised my hand again to correct the teacher in her spelling of the beloved name! (She had tried to put two s’s in the middle: Jessus.)
Another time in the same year, my friend came over to play one day and ended up begrudgingly helping my family unpack from a recent move. I encouraged her that maybe we would get a treat from the prize box. She replied, “Yeah, cross your fingers.” Having never heard that expression, I was confused and said, “No, we should pray about it.” She had never heard that before, and by the end of the day she had fallen in love with Jesus as well. We never did get that treat from the prize box, though…
My passion for Jesus has never died, but there have been times in my life when Jesus’ rebuke was meant for me personally. Getting out of those dry times of lackluster love has always started with sheer discipline. Just as Pastor Dave mentioned on Sunday, “if you want to love your car, wash it every day.” Setting aside significant, uninterrupted, daily time with God has been the key to bringing vitality back into my relationship with Jesus every time I wander.
It feels like work at first. It feels almost hypocritical, like you’re just going through the motions. But when we stick to it, our hearts begin to realize where our treasure really lies. If you’re in that place of lost passion, I join Pastor Dave and Jesus Himself in urging you to “do the deeds you did at first.”
If you are already burning with passion for Jesus, go further. The message was not given mainly to individuals, but to a group of believers. Does your small group have the passion of first love for Jesus? Do even know what that would look like in your group? As leaders, brainstorm ways to foster this kind of love for Jesus within your group. What do the deeds of first love look like for a group?
Topics: Inspire, Small Groups, revelation |