First Love

 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and do the works you did at first. If you don’t, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.  (Revelation 2:4-5 NLT)

Observation and Application:

There is no one like a brand-new believer in Christ and there is nothing like a new believer’s first love.  First Love is such a pure and simple love for Jesus who gave his all for us, and pure and simple love for every other Christ-follower.

It’s sad and frustrating and seems kind of tragic that First Love gets lost in the realities of life and learning and experience and delay and disappointment.  First Love is so pure and simple and life is so cloudy and complex.

The good news is that there is purity and simplicity on the other side of complexity and confusion.

If you’re a brand-new Christ-follower, keep your First Love alive and if it ever fades, search for it as you would for treasure.  If you’re a little jaded by the realities of life, remember your First Love and go find it.  Never settle for anything but the purity and simplicity of your First Love for Jesus and for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Prayer:

Father, what a wonderful thing it would be if every believer lived with the purity and simplicity of First Love.  Please remind us, confront us, and draw us to First Love for you and for each other.  Amen.