As in the Beginning

Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love. (Rev 2:4)

It seems inevitable that our initial ardor will cool somewhat over time. We see this almost universally in new believers. It is also our common experience in other human relationships and interests. Are we being asked to overcome this universal tendency? I’m not so sure. I think what we need to recover is not the emotional high we first experienced when we came to know Christ, but the depth of our commitment. True Biblical love is not an emotion but an act of the will to honor and serve another. In that sense, too, we have often forsaken our first love. We have let the cares of life and its distractions draw our focus and commitment away from God. Let us in that sense return to our first love. With passion, yes, but more importantly with devotion and single-mindedness of purpose, let us recommit ourselves to God our Savior, who loves us with an everlasting love.