GOING BACK TO OUR FIRST LOVE

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Christianity is first and foremost a relationship. It is a love relationship between God and His people.

Can you still recall that day you accepted Jesus and how that began your love relationship with Him?

Can you recall the passion and hunger you had for the Lord during that time He apprehended you? Can you remember an instance when your heart was simply filled to overflowing with love for God?

However, just like in any relationship, man's love for God can grow cold because we have a capacity to wander off. Are you in such a situation today? Is your love for God losing steam? To address or to avoid this from happening it is important to know what causes this situation.

Even in earthly relationships, love can wane when new loves arise. Two of the reasons we find in the Scripture why people’s fervor for God wane are love for the world and love for the works.

Love for the World

In the Old Testament, time and again the Lord rebuked the Israelites for neglecting Him and running after other loves. As the Israelites dwelt in the Promise Land, they saw and were drawn to the gods of the people of the land, their lifestyles, their women. As a result, the Israelites lost their love for God. They began to chase after the gods of the world.

Deuteronomy 11:13-16
‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.

The Lord time and again reminded the Israelites to love God and not go after other gods because He knows the capacity of men to wander. How well was this illustrated by the wife of Hosea. The Lord commanded Hosea to marry a harlot that his life may prophesy to the Israelites of the very thing they were doing to the Lord, leaving Him for other loves.

Hosea 2:5
For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’

There are Christians today who are just like the Israelites of old and the wife of Hosea, entering into a relationship with God but eventually channeling their affections and desires to other things.

How many Christians today are nourishing other loves above their love for God? How many Christians today are absorbed with the pursuits of this world - pleasures, material wealth, vices, or human relationships?

Running after other gods is not just an unbelievers’ folly. Even Christians can have little gods in their lives and go astray. But in the mercy of God, He makes a way for such to return to Him.

Hosea 2:14-17
 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak comfort to her.
I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
“And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’
For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.

For those who will not heed rebuke, God uses the wilderness and the Valley of Achor, which means trouble, as a door of hope. The Valley of Achor is where Achan was punished for keeping some treasures of Jericho.

A whole nation was brought into trouble as it faced defeat among the people of Ai. This led Joshua to cry out to God. In the same manner by bringing a man who has wandered to times of trouble he is reminded of God.

In his desperation, he realizes only God can save him and remembers the love of his youth. Just like in the time of Joshua, the Valley of troubled can purge idolatry from men’s hearts.

For people who have forgotten God, He may take them to the wilderness not only to remind them that they need God but also to restore their love for Him. In the above passage, it says that in the wilderness, the wife of harlotry was going to sing again, which speaks of worship. In the midst of desperation the sacrifices of praise are once again stirred up in the heart of man. And as the life of worship is nourished again, just like the wife of harlotry, man rediscovers his relationship with God. Not only that, this time the relationship changes from that of Master and servant to Husband and wife.

Love of Works

Another cause of a waning love for God is busyness whether it be in natural or spiritual responsibilities. There are three examples we shall be studying.

1. Shunammite Woman

Song of Songs 1:6-7
Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has tanned me.
My mother's sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards.

In her conversation with the Lover, who is a symbol of the Lord, the heavenly Bridegroom, she requests him not to look at her for she has grown dark. She explains that her mother's sons were angry at her and made her keeper of the vineyards. Then she says but her own vineyard she neglected. The mother's sons here can symbolize church authorities and the vineyards as people. Thus, this can represent times in a Christian's life when he becomes preoccupied with ministering to others but neglects his own heart.

God certainly seeks that we be used in His kingdom but it cannot be at the expense of our walk with Him. It is very easy to think that simply because I am ministering to God’s people that God is pleased with me. It is very easy to fall into the thinking that ministry can replace a personal walk with God. We must be careful to ensure that our walk with Him remains priority.

That she did not want the Bridegroom to gaze at her means she knew that her condition was not attractive to the Bridegroom. And the same goes for us. If we neglect the garden of our own hearts, we will lose our attractiveness before God. What did the Shunammite woman do after the realization of what she has become?

Song of Songs 1:7-8
Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
If you do not know, O fairest among Women,
Follow the footsteps of the flock and feed your little goats
Besides the shepherds’ tents.

She sought to feed upon her Lover once again. She sought to tend her garden once more. And the lover told her how. She was told to follow in the footsteps of the flock and draw near the Shepherd's tents. How important it is that when we have come from a season of neglecting our own walk with God that we seek to be fed by true shepherds who can show us the way.

This however can be a challenge to people who have been in ministry particularly those who are in leadership positions. It can be quite a struggle for such to seek to be fed by others because they have been so used to ministering to others. Thus, it requires humility to acknowledge one's need and seek help. And those who have learned to receive from shepherds and cleave have been fed well. Also, be assured that if you humbly acknowledge your need to be taught, if you hunger for God, the Lord will provide for you true shepherds.

Jeremiah 3:14-15
“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

2. Martha

Luke 10:38-42
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was no doubt a believer. In fact, that well known account of her and her sister's response to the presence of Jesus happened in her house. Martha welcomed Jesus to her house. However, from what happened to Martha, we are made to understand a very special truth.

It is not enough that Jesus is welcomed in a person’s heart. He seeks for more.

Martha appeared to be worrying over legitimate concerns. She was simply caring for the needs of her guests. She was after all serving Jesus and those who were listening to Him. These can represent natural responsibilities.

Good as these are, the Lord cannot allow that these compete with our devotion to Him. He desires for us to be setting our concerns aside and sitting at His feet to listen to Him. Have you ever experienced being kept from your quiet time because of some other important things you needed to attend to? Or perhaps in the middle of your quiet time, you have experienced difficulty focusing because your mind is on some concern or responsibility?

In the same account, we are shown what Martha needed to do and that was to be like Mary. It was not as if Mary was just irresponsible and did not desire to serve. It was simply that Mary recognized who was more important and she was captivated! Oh how we need to be captivated by the presence of Jesus! For when His presence enamors us all other matters are overshadowed. Does Jesus’ presence overshadow our concerns or do they overshadow Jesus?

We learn from Mary of the need to sit and listen. If there are many worries or preoccupations concerning us today let us do as Mary did. Sit. Be quiet. Listen to the Teacher.

3. Church at Ephesus

Revelation 2:2-4
“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

The church of Ephesus was one of the seven churches addressed in the book of Revelations. The church was commended for its perseverance, labor, and righteousness. However, it was also rebuked for one thing - losing its first love.

To help understand what happened to the Church of Ephesus it would help to know the background of the city. Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia Minor. It was a port city that also became a very significant financial center. Ephesus was therefore a very wealthy city.

The Church of Ephesus mirrored the city. It was an important church as well. Just like the city, it was bustling with activity and full of good works. In fact, the Apostle Paul ministered and taught here for years. His Epistle to the Ephesians is considered the Queen Epistle of the New Testament. It is a glorious epistle filled with deep revelations.

However, because the port was so busy with all the ships coming in, it eventually became silted. As ships docked they brought silt from the sea to the shores of Ephesus. The port due to silt became shallow. So much so that ships could no longer dock in it.

Unfortunately, for ships to dock at a port they need depth, something Ephesus lost. The very source of its wealth eventually became the cause of its destruction. The city eventually died. This illustrates what happened to the church as well. Its busyness with ministry or doing good works eventually drew the church away from its pursuit of Christ.

They became too busy in the kingdom they forgot the King. Because of this, just like the city, they lost their depth. When our walk with God becomes shallow it would make our ministry ineffective. The goal of ministry is to usher others to a deeper walk, something we can only do if we ourselves are at it.

The interesting thing about the Ephesians is that they were the ones Paul wrote to on knowing the love of God. They were an enlightened church. What this tells us is that even with knowledge, man can go astray if he does not put God first.

What did God tell them to do? They were told to repent and go back to the first works. They were told to repent and go back to the fundamentals. Everyday prayer, study of the Word, and worship and Sunday worship sound basic but they are the lifeblood of our walk with God. Thus, we must give them utmost importance.

To the Lord, relationship is first and foremost. We must learn to cultivate our personal walk with God and nourish our desire for Him. We must move up from a mere transactional relationship with God to a love relationship with God.

Devotions must not simply be routine or obligations fulfilled everyday but something we desire after. 

He saved us because He is seeking a people who will be part of the Bride who will love Him first.

The simple reminder we are being given today is to make sure that the flame of our first love is growing. He has to be first, not only in our word, but in our actions.