InChristAlone
Friday, November 18, 2005
My First Love
Revelation 2:3-5
"And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
My thoughts:
These verses are the revelation of Jesus Christ to John about the church at Ephesus. Jesus makes mention of their labor and patience and the way that they have done it in His name. Notice He says "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee". Why? Because these people had left their first love--Jesus Christ Himself! The foundation of this church and its laboring were no longer resting upon Jesus Christ. They were not motivated by their love for Him anymore. But Jesus knew that. He knew that their motivation was wrong.
Am I promoting the cause of Christ out of the right motivation--a love for Christ? What is the basis of my work? Why do I labor? Do I do it for my "first love"--Jesus Christ?
If I am ministering, if I am serving in any way, if I am in any way promoting the cause of Christ here on this earth, is it because I love to see Him glorified? Do I witness because I desire to see men, women, and children experience and express the glory of their "first love"?
If my motivation lies elsewhere I must determine where I have placed my love. What happened to the One Who first captured my love? I must remember Who changed me, Who drew me to Himself, and Who set His love upon me. This should cause me to repent for my work that has been done "in vain." That may sound harsh, but if my labor for the kingdom of God is not out of a heart of love than how could it be anything but "in vain"?
I pray that my work would not be "in vain" because I have forgotten my "first love." I don't want to be guilty of living the dutiful Christian life. Every ounce of our labor should be done out of a love for our "first love." And what a "first love" we have!
Is He still the Lover of our Souls?
Maybe we need to stop what we are doing right now and evaluate our labor. Maybe we need to just come back to the "heart of worship" because ultimately it is "all about You, Jesus."
"And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
My thoughts:
These verses are the revelation of Jesus Christ to John about the church at Ephesus. Jesus makes mention of their labor and patience and the way that they have done it in His name. Notice He says "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee". Why? Because these people had left their first love--Jesus Christ Himself! The foundation of this church and its laboring were no longer resting upon Jesus Christ. They were not motivated by their love for Him anymore. But Jesus knew that. He knew that their motivation was wrong.
Am I promoting the cause of Christ out of the right motivation--a love for Christ? What is the basis of my work? Why do I labor? Do I do it for my "first love"--Jesus Christ?
If I am ministering, if I am serving in any way, if I am in any way promoting the cause of Christ here on this earth, is it because I love to see Him glorified? Do I witness because I desire to see men, women, and children experience and express the glory of their "first love"?
If my motivation lies elsewhere I must determine where I have placed my love. What happened to the One Who first captured my love? I must remember Who changed me, Who drew me to Himself, and Who set His love upon me. This should cause me to repent for my work that has been done "in vain." That may sound harsh, but if my labor for the kingdom of God is not out of a heart of love than how could it be anything but "in vain"?
I pray that my work would not be "in vain" because I have forgotten my "first love." I don't want to be guilty of living the dutiful Christian life. Every ounce of our labor should be done out of a love for our "first love." And what a "first love" we have!
Is He still the Lover of our Souls?
Maybe we need to stop what we are doing right now and evaluate our labor. Maybe we need to just come back to the "heart of worship" because ultimately it is "all about You, Jesus."
posted by Heather Livingston at 1:48 PM
4 Comments:
Heather,
That is a great journal! I have been challenged by it and hope I can always remember my "first love"!
Love in Christ,
Beth
Heather,
I am richly blessed to have you as a friend. Your writings bring blessing and conviction, which is also a blessing. ;)
I have experienced my first love this week. Thank you again for loving me enough to pray for me!
I often have to check and reevaluate where my heart is. Is my motivation because of selfish reasons? Am I doing soemthing becaue it will benefit me? Remembering that Christ is the reason that I am who I am, keeps me focused on keeping my heart and my actions based on Him and not something else. You are a gifted writer and I enjoy reading your posts too. My God bless your talents.
Thanks for the post!!! I have just now had the opportunity to read it and it was very convicting! Thank you again!
Love ya, Dani
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