First Love
A frazzled housewife once said, “I have so many problems that if something terrible happened to me it would be at least two weeks before I could get around to worrying about it.” She needed a break. So does everyone, whether on a personal or just on an observational level.
From time to time, due to the nature of the national news we hear every day, it is spiritually therapeutic to think on something better. We can look at Israel’s example in Ezra’s day. “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Psalm 126:1–3). After their captivity, God had become the focus of their lives again. They could see the great things that He, and not they themselves, was doing for them and they were glad.
Our circumstance is different in that we have not (yet) gone into national captivity. We have, however, come out of a personal spiritual one with our new life in Christ. What freedom and what gladness was ours in that state of our first love! How could anyone of us forget it? Our focus was on everything God: His will for us in all matters, overcoming, loving His people as ourselves, doing good works, etc. There was and is gladness when God is our focus and not we ourselves.
Christ spoke to the Church in Ephesus through John’s hand. “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent” (Revelation 2:4–5). God’s people in Ephesus had done many good things, but they had fallen away from their first love and except that they repented, they would be removed. That, in essence, would mean a return to spiritual captivity.
When God is not our focal point for everything in life, problems abound, and genuine gladness disappears. The break we all need from the mounting stresses is found in our first love of everything about God and His way of life.
Marshall Stiver
