First Love

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”  Revelation 2:4,5.

This last Sunday I spoke on suppressing and then re-kindling our first love.  I was not talking about some sort of high school crush.  I was talking about Jesus.

It is easy to allow careers, people, recreation, and the like to get in the way.  Not that they are bad things, but they just shouldn’t be the first things.  Some of you know I was an electrician for 22 years in the greater Los Angeles area.  Great career.  I did well.  The frustration lay in the feeling that that career was the number one thing in my life.  It sort of forced the other good things, from Jesus to family, into second and third place. I suspect that my family felt this.  I’m sure Jesus did! While I am grateful it afforded the opportunity to move into full time gospel ministry, it made me weary.  Of having my priorities right.

Here’s a truth: even full-time gospel ministry can place Jesus into second place.  I don’t know how many pastors would admit this but…we can become so busy doing things that, well, we just hope, and certainly pray, Jesus is in there somewhere.

In the reading above, Jesus called to a church to turn around.  He calls to me also.  What about you? Can you hear him this morning?  Saying, “Come back to your first love…come back….”

The good news is that he allows returns.  And he waits.  For me.  For you.  For us.  We might abandon him, he will never abandon us.

(Note: This morning’s post reflects a change for me.  For years I have read and preached from the New International Version of the Bible.  Over the past year, however, I have moved my personal reading over to the English Standard Version.  Today’s post reflects that change. Let me just encourage you to find a translation of the Bible that meets your needs…and then read it!)