First Love

I’ve been enjoying some time off this week, and that’s the reason I’m a little later than normal posting here. It’s important for all of us to take a break, and that means also breaking with routines and doing something fresh. So, I’m taking a lot more time in the morning to read and seek God, and I’m catching up on some much needed rest.

One of the things that has hit home with me this week is examining my “first love” status with Jesus. Do I love Him now as much as I did when I was first born again and Spirit-Filled? Is His Word as exciting to me as it was when I first met Him?

First love is a condition of the heart, and must be guarded against the erosions of busyness and deadlines that must be met. Dietrich Bonheoffer said, be aware of the barrenness of a busy life. Life with Jesus will always be first of all a heart contact, and that means taking time to know Him.

That’s not performance, just like romance is not performance. Romance is a heart thing between two people. They want to be with each other. They want the companionship. They crave intimacy with the one they love.

There is a pure romance of the heart that each believer should foster with Jesus. Forced time alone, clock watching during prayer, hurriedly reading the Word because of the deadlines of life can quench first love. Heart relationship takes time, lots of time. Listening, gazing, and absorbing the other person’s thoughts and feelings are keys to romance.

In Philippians 3 Paul mentioned that he counted all things as mere refuse to the goal of being intimate with Jesus. His reputation, his education, his social standing, his expertise created by his excellent education, all of these meant nothing in the light of knowing Jesus and the Father intimately. We must ask ourselves, do I feel this way? Is anything in my life more important than knowing Jesus and having a heart intimacy with Him through prayer and the Word?

It’s a good thing to examine ourselves. As the Greek philosopher said centuries ago, an unexamined life is not worth living. I’m taking time during this break to examine me and my life priorities. Go with me on this journey to insure that first love is still there with Jesus and the Father. Eternity rewards heartfelt obedience.