First Love

Rev 2:4 “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

I know all of you have heard the saying “distance makes the heart grow fonder. Our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan understand it completely. Whether you are a soldier in a foreign land, a businessman on an extended business trip, or a father of three on a two-week vacation; at some point during the trip, vacation, or deployment, you begin to anticipate, look forward to, and long for HOME. How many of us have said, “I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed!” “I can’t wait to get home!” When we leave the place that we call “home” it is exciting, new, and adventurous at first, but after a while, when the unknown becomes known, we long for the familiar, we long from HOME. As Christians, our Home is in Jesus Christ, our first “true love”. So why is it that Christians leave that “first love” and venture off into the world looking for something new, exciting, and adventurous? It is because they have forgotten what it was like to be at home in the love of Christ. There are many terms for leaving the love of Christ. Backsliding, falling away, fallen from grace, prodigal, etc., but they all carry the same meaning. All of them mean that the place of importance that Christ once had in our lives has been replaced by something apart from Christ. Revelation 2:5 "Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first;” Jesus Christ tells us how to come back to our “first love” in this verse. We must remember, repent, and resume.

The first thing that we have to do is remember what it was like when we lived a life for Him. We must remember the inner peace, the joy, and the hope that we had when we submitted our life to Christ. Comparing that with the chaos, hopelessness, and disappointment that we have received from the world, it becomes easier to apply the next step.

Next we must repent. A lot of people are confused on what it means to repent. Some falsely associated repentance with regret or penance and don’t truly understand how to repent. The word “repent” is translated from the Greek word “metanoeo” with literally means to change your mind. We must change our mind with regard to what we truly love. Our thinking must turn 180 degrees from the belief that happiness is gained from the things of this world, which are apart from Christ; to the belief that true joy; peace, contentment, and hope can only be found by diligently seeking Christ.

The last thing Jesus tells us in this verse is that we must resume the deeds that we did at first. This has to do with obedience to the word. When we truly love Christ, we search the scriptures and obey them. This is the “walk” of a Christian who is absolutely loves the Lord. We must apply truth to experience in order to understand the love that Christ has for us. When we understand His love, then our love for Him grows and His love is perfected in us. If you have left your first love for Christ, apply the principles that he explains to us in this passage. Remember, repent, and resume. Come back home!