Renewing Our First Love

When we come to know the Lord and begin our walk with Him, a kind of fascination arises that envelops our whole being. The Spirit of God, who knows the vicissitudes of the newly redeemed and forgiven heart, which now feels uplifted and relieved of the world’s overwhelming burdens, begins the work of healing within us, and our spirit surrenders inescapably to Christ and His church. The world becomes new to us; we count the days until this Sunday finally arrives, though it seems to take an eternity; we miss the fellowship and the brotherly embrace we shared the last time; and the praise music we listen to at home is like an energizing melody that invigorates our feelings and our desire to show charity to everyone who comes our way. It is as though every day we took heaven by storm, and we already see angels around us and Christ at our side, while the church seems to us like an earthly paradise filled with men and women full of the Spirit, overflowing with cups of holiness. Love pours out through all five of our senses; our perspective on reality reveals itself to be different. It is the climax of love, of our first love for Christ.

If you have ever doubted Christ’s zeal for the love of His church and His children, chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation can shed light on the subject and help you understand spiritual truths that may reawaken in you the fervor, commitment, passion, devotion, and enthusiasm of those early days when you felt clothed in Christ from head to toe. He knows us and knows when our works, even though they bear certain marks of authenticity and Christian sincerity, strip themselves of love for Him and become pure routine, a kind of automatic and formalistic practice that merely covers up and satisfies outward appearances but does not reveal our true heart.

We must not deceive ourselves. In one way or another, we all abandon that first love at some point, and the Bible challenges us not only to remember those times when the Word of God never ceased to be proclaimed by our mouths, but also to seek out and experience once again that fervor which consumed us inwardly and glorified God. Indifference, apathy, negligence, and laziness are sins that displease God and lead us away from the beautiful path of holiness. Every day we are challenged to show the world the fruit of the Spirit produced within us. Without a doubt, the fruit of love—love for our heavenly Father and for our neighbor—is and will continue to be the greatest driving force propelling us toward greater victories in our Christian life. But this is not the love of the “here and now,” but the love that flows from that supernatural tenderness which was manifested “in the beginning” through the grace and Spirit of Christ, visible in each of our actions. The Christian life is a constant spiritual war against sin; the flesh—that part of us that can be influenced by worldly passions and incites us to rebel against God, turn away from Him, and do our own will—and the world, which clamor loudly for us to return to works of wickedness and depravity, forget this first love, and turn our Christian walk into a mere religious and legalistic routine in which things are done solely out of obligation.

Christ calls us not to abandon our first love, and He is grieved when we put other interests and priorities in the place that belongs to Him alone. When this happens—when we try to excuse our laziness and lay down the spiritual weapons that once made us strong and godly because of that original and genuine love brought about by our encounter with Jesus; when we begin to undervalue in our minds and hearts the great gift of salvation and forgiveness that we received by grace—right then begins this process of abandoning that love which once made our hearts ache with joy and immense peace. Do you remember the first time you felt the tender embrace of your heavenly Father as you sought Him with complete fervor and passion? Do you remember when, for the first time, you sought the nourishment of the Word of God like a hungry beggar and heard His voice? Do you remember when you saw the face of God in sublime prayer, or were dying to serve someone in need, moved by the glory of God in your life?

The message that we must return to the first love we felt for Jesus when we came to know Him is relevant for these times. There are churches and Christians who have ceased to reflect the light of their Lord because they forgot their commitment; they no longer love one another, they do not share the gospel of Salvation, and above all, they do not repent of their sins. Christ reminds us: “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who truly love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them” (John 14:21 GNT). Let us take hold of this beautiful promise of God’s love and of our love for Him. Let us return to our first love, to the seed, to that place where only devotion, the fervor of wholehearted commitment, and perfect fellowship with the Spirit of our Redeemer matter. It is not an alternative; rather, it should be your eternal calling, my eternal calling, our eternal calling. God bless you!