Abandoned Love

Revelations 2:3-4 ESV
“I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

After such a glowing review of the work of the Ephesians, it had to be tough hearing that Jesus knew that their love was not the same for Him as it was at first.

We have all been there, someone loved us and then the love grew cold and they walked away. We never intended it to be Jesus but we are all guilty at some point of not keeping the love for Jesus like it was at first.

I remember when I was 19 and I fell in love with Jesus all over again on that September evening. I thought I was ok, I thought I still had the spark as I did when I was 11 and I knew 100 percent that I was changed. Then the teenage years happened and He took a back seat. It happened again in my later 20’s, I just did not work at keeping the love alive that I had for Jesus at 11 and 19 years old.

I’ve done a better job at keeping the love alive since my late 20’s, I’ve communicated, I’ve studied tirelessly the Word. But even then in one church I worked so hard at keeping things running smooth that I allowed the relationship to slip back.

There is no shame in admitting we have not kept the love alive, the shame is not doing something to correct the problem. Jesus never fell back on His part, He has always pursued us 100 percent.

We did not lose our first love, we just wondered away from the love we had at the beginning. We have to remember the way we loved Him at first. Get back to the seeking, longing kind of love for Jesus that we had in the beginning.

Prayer:
Lord, I love You because You first loved me. If I do not feel like I did at 11 and 19, help me to get back to where I once was, so in love with You!