The Excitement Of Your First Love
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
Revelation 2:4
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Love is more than a feeling of exhilaration in the presence of another. Rather, love is a commitment that grows deeper with the years.
In the case of the Ephesian church, the excitement of first love for God had faded into meaningless ritual, motions without enthusiasm, works without warmth.
G. Campbell Morgan illustrates the problem of losing your first love for God with this story.
WALK WITH G. CAMPBELL MORGAN
“A friend of mine had a daughter whom he dearly loved. They were great friends. One day his birthday came; and in the morning of that day she came into his room with her face wreathed in smiles and said, ‘Father, I have brought you a present.’ She handed him a box in which he found an exquisitely decorated pair of slippers.
“He said, ‘Darling, it was very good of you to buy these for me.’
“ ‘O Father,’ she said, ‘I did not buy them. I have made them for you.’
“Then looking at her he said, ‘Oh, now I understand. Is this what you have been doing for the last three months?’
“She replied, ‘Yes, Father. But how did you know how long I had been at work on them?’
“He said, ‘Because for three months I have not had your company. You have been too busy. My darling, I like these slippers very much. But next time, buy the slippers, and let me have your company. I would rather have my child than anything she can make for me.’ “
WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Father, I find it so much easier today to work for you than to walk with you.
Restore to me the freshness and vitality of first love. Let me sense again your touch in my life. In place of my meager labors, I offer you the one thing you desire most: myself. In the name of the one who gave himself in love. Amen.
