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First Love

“We love him because he first loved us.”¹

Love. The word itself paints a different picture for everyone. It might be your wedding day, or the birth of your first child. Love might have appeared the day you became a grandparent, or the memory of your childhood pet. Perhaps you just took a stroll down memory lane to your first love. You might remember the long hours spent on the phone and how he, or she, never left your thoughts; how your heart swelled when you saw them or even heard their name. You never tired of your special someone and wanted everyone to know how you felt. You thought you would always be in love, and even when you said your vows at the alter promised you’d always feel the same. Yet, as the years went by, you found that the butterflies flew away, and texts replaced the long calls. You didn’t fall out of love, but the excitement of that first love felt different now. And now you find yourself longing for things to be the way they used to be.

When we came to Christ, we might have felt something similar. Our greatest desire was that everyone would know our “New Love”. We wanted to spend every spare moment reading the Bible and learning more about our Savior. We could pray without running out of things to say. We longed for Sunday so that we could go to church and feel His presence and worship Him. We enjoyed every moment of that sweet relationship with our Creator. But as time went on, talking about Jesus became difficult, because not everyone wanted to hear about Him. It became a task to find time to read the Bible and it became even harder to pray for longer than five minutes. Soon, days would go by before you remembered to read the ‘verse of the day’. At least Sunday was still the Lord’s Day. You didn’t fall out of love with the Lord, but things most definitely changed and now you might find yourself longing for things to be the way they used to be. You long to return to the feeling of that first love with Jesus. The good news is that Jesus has not changed and His love for us is the same as it was the very first day you opened your heart to Him.

It's never too late to rekindle the flame of first love. It is just a matter of being intentional with our actions. Making time for another, and especially for Jesus, is well worth the effort. Today, allow yourself the time to spend a few extra moments with Him. While driving around town, or even at home, listen to those worship songs that bring back the joy of feeling His presence throughout the day. Tell Jesus how much you love him right now!

Suggested prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I admit that I have become preoccupied with other things that have taken the place of spending quality time with you. I have lost that feeling of joy and excitement that I had when my love for you was new. But today I want to tell you that I love you! Thank you for continuing to love me with that perfect and holy love you showed me the day you died for me. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. 1 John 4:19.