KEEPING FIRST LOVE ALIVE & WELL

In 1973 I experienced an encounter with Jesus Christ that changed my life forever.  A switch went on within me and I felt like I had been newly born again.  Love surrounded my entire being, inside and out; I felt forgiven; I felt grace and mercy poured out on me; I felt His Presence.  After wards I felt excited about every new moment, every new day, and every new thing I learned about God.  It was like falling head over heels in love with someone; only wanting to be with that person all the time; adoring everything about that person.

In a human relationship that intensity rarely, if ever lasts.  The glow of first love fades and reality kicks in.  The fire goes out and the passion fades away.  You get stuck in a rut of routine and keep walking that rut together, but not holding hands and smooching along the way; just walking.

That demise happens in the spiritual life as well, as is seen as Jesus addresses the church in Ephesus.  He appreciates their work, their toil, and their patient endurance. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).  All the good things they were doing came second to the lost love and put them in danger of losing their lampstand and their light going out.  I find that sobering, along with Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7:21-23.  Without the knowledge and love of God consuming me and being the driving force in everything I am and everything I do, my works have no true significance.  They are just things done with no eternal value.

Keeping that first love, that intensity of God’s Presence dwelling within me and all around me is crucial in my Christian life in order to produce worthy fruit that will have eternal significance and value.  There are many ways to keep that fire and passion going but for me the most effective way is to live a daily life in worship; giving praise and thanksgiving to God for all He is and all He does.  When I actively worship I feel His Presence and the switch within comes on, just like it did that first time.  When I am inactively worshipping I still feel the heat from the embers of that fire.  I am filled with love and adoration of all that God created; of all that Jesus did in His life, death, and resurrection; of all that the Holy Spirit does to keep me on the right path, not because of a developed rut but because He is holding my hand as we walk together.

Worship keeps the embers of the fire and passion of that first love burning brightly within my heart, mind, and soul.  It keeps my lampstand ever lit and in place.