October 30 | Overcoming Losing Your First Love
Revelation 2:4, “Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first.”
The most tragic thing to lose in your walk with God is your first love. The first love we have for Jesus is priceless and incomparable to any kind of love in this world. Love is defined as, “strong emotion, intimate care, self-sacrifice and passion for someone.” If you have never truly loved God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength- then you have never been born again. In other words, it’s impossible to be in a relationship with Jesus without loving Him with everything you have because loving God is the first and most important command (Mark 12:30).
The Bible defined loving God in two ways; first, we love God by worshipping and adoring Him (John 4:24) and second, by obeying all of His commands (John 14:15). John wrote in his first epistle, “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person” (1 John 2:4). Are you a liar or do you keep all of God’s commands- including loving Him with all your heart?
Things in life- even God’s blessings, like our family and jobs can easily slip in and divert our worship and obedience to God if we’re not careful to guard our heart. This is not to say that we cannot love both our families and God, but you can begin to lose your first love for God by putting your family above worshipping Him and obeying His commands.
For example, imagine if you thought going to a family function was more important than being at church- this would be making your family an idol. No matter how much we love our family, we should never forget what Jesus said in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” God must always be the center of our families lest we perish forever with our families. I’d rather come late to a family picnic because I went to church first, than miss church and set a terrible example for my lost family members. I want to show them how important my love for Jesus is to help inspire them to forsake their idol of self-worship and love God with all of their heart and soul!
Never forget this one thing in life; it will always and forever be about Jesus. Long after your life on earth is over, it will still be about Him.
Make your short life full by loving God and obeying His commands. A.W. Tozer wrote, “You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.” How do we keep our first love and dedication to God all throughout our lives? Keep doing the things we did when we first fell in love with Jesus. In other words, I will never lose my first love for my wife if I keep doing the things for her that I did when I first fell in love (ex., “treating her special,” “making time to be alone,” etc.)
The same is true with what Jesus said in Revelation 2:5 to the church of Ephesus after He rebuked them in the previous verse for losing their first love. He said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” As a result, if you have lost your first love for God; first repent and then second, do (and keep doing) the things you used to do.
Have you lost your first love? If so, pray this out loud, “Father, forgive me for allowing the things of this world to take away my worship and obedience. Empower me by the Holy Spirit to do the things I did at first and to never stop doing them until I see you face to face. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Reflection
Do you still have your first love for Jesus?
Action
- Repent if you have lost your first love for Jesus.
- If you have lost your first love, start worshipping God and obeying all that He commanded you to do- no short cuts or compromise.
- Live your life loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength!
One Year Reading Plan
Lamentations 3:1-66, Hebrews 1:1-14, Psalm 102:1-28, & Proverbs 26:21-22. Click here to read online.