Do You Remember Your First Love?

When I say, “First Love”, what is the first thing to come to mind? If you are like most people, your mind goes back to high school and that first love or first kiss. For others, a certain type of food comes to mind! There are even those who think of their first car! Whatever the case, almost everyone has some clear association with the phrase “First Love”.

First Love Forgotten

In my last post, I talked about how I had read a passage from Revelation that resonated with me – up to a point. Jesus was praising the church at Ephesus for their works, labor, and endurance.

But then He turned and criticized them severely for forgetting their first love (Him!). Evidently, this church was doing good works, but their motives were out of whack. As I began to assess my own motives, I realized there was definitely room for improvement!

Your Self Assessment?

After reading my last post, have you assessed your own motives? Can you see yourself and your own actions reflected in those of the Ephesians? Is there doubt in your mind as to whether your motives are pure or not?

Let’s take another look at the criticism Jesus had for the Ephesian church:

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; …

How Does It Apply?

Focusing only on the criticism, we see Jesus referring to the love the Ephesians had at first. He tells them that they have abandoned that first love and fallen far. Have you thought about exactly what that means?

Even more importantly, have you thought about how that might apply to you?

How are we to know if we truly love Jesus above all else? How are we to know if He is our true first love…still? Is there a test we can take that will tell us?

Questions To Ask

Well, I could not find a true love test online (except the one on e-Harmony!), but I do have a couple of questions we can ask ourselves. Take some time to think these through and see what you come up with.

• Is there anything in my life that I would choose over Jesus?
• If I could only hold onto one or the other, which would I keep?
• Most importantly, what is the physical evidence of this preference?
• When I look at my actions, what do they say about my love for Jesus?

Take time to really dig into this thought process.

Let’s Get Practical

I am going to assume this line of questioning is fairly difficult, even too vague, for you to answer with certainty. I understand. We do not see Jesus or interact with Him on a daily basis. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to judge our love for Him in this way.

Let’s get a little more practical. To set the stage for these next questions, let’s take a look at a couple of passages:

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen.
1 John 4:20

If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need—how can God’s love reside in him?
1 John 3:17

More Questions

In light of these verses, let’s ask ourselves a few more questions.

Am I consistently aware of and eager to meet the needs of those around me as I go through my day? Are the needs of the least of my employees or team members just as important to me (or more so) as my leading performers and top managers?

Do I see employees, customers, and vendors more as tools to be used for my business or personal gain or do I see them as opportunities for ministry? What does my heart tell me about this?

When I am making tough decisions about personnel, business policy, or strategy, are my actions more reflective of my love for those being affected or more about the bottom line of the business? [Remember, loving an employee does not mean you don’t make the tough decisions!]

Summary In Simplest Terms

I want to boil it down to the simplest terms I can.

Jesus expects to be our first love. This expectation trumps all of our actions and words. We best show that love for Him by our love for others. Without a love for others, we do not have a true love for Him. In this case, we have abandoned our first love.

Read that paragraph again…it is the crux of this post.

Folks, we simply must see others the way Jesus sees them. These “others” are our employees, team members, customers, as well as vendors and suppliers. We cannot show favoritism in this process – they are ALL our neighbors.

I will leave you with this passage:

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35

Have you forgotten your first love?

What is the evidence for your answer?

What are you going to change today?