First Love

Ahhhhhh! Your first love. Everyone has either had one, has one or will have one. They are generally monumental and typically remain somewhere in your mind for a long time (if not forever). Can you remember the "crazy things" you did for the first love? Many of us go back to our Elementary School days with thoughts of boy chasing girl, pulling girls hair, girl clobbering boy, girl and friends giggling about boy getting clobbered and boy thinking girl is beautiful.

Regardless of how many times the boy got clobbered he still would always go back for more. He loved the attention, the interaction and "the moment". Faced with awkwardness, shyness and a warped since of feelings the boy would continue to vie for the affection of his girl. For example, Darla and Alfalfa, how many times did Alfalfa "pursue" Darla only to have her skip away with Waldo. Countless times Alfalfa would croon to his girl in hopes of winning her affection, only to have her put him down.

For whatever reason your First love is important because it is your "first". Essentially you enter into this "love" with no preconceived notions, ideas, concepts or baggage. So it is automatically "fresh". This can only happen once. It requires a lot of "faith" as well.

I have a wonderful wife and like any couple we have had some good times and some times that were not as good. We met in college and I can remember the different antics I used to try and get her to notice me. Then once she noticed me I can remember how nervous I would be about seeing her and talking to her. Then as we began to spend time with each other we began to know each other better and we began feeling more and more comfortable with one another. This is probably similar to many other relationships.

In the beginning of relationships and "pre-relationship" both parties will work extremely hard to keep the interest up and to impress the other person. During this time we dress nicer, act differently and in some ways become a different person altogether. We write love letters, talk all the time and when we are with that person the world just seems to be perfect.

What tends to happen is we become so comfortable with the other person and how they feel about us we easily become lazy and self-centered. We do not go out of our way for the other person as much anymore, time constraints, obligations, other interests, responsibilities and apathy tend to rob us of our "First Love".

Revelation 2:3-5 You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up. But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don't have as much love as you used to. Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don't turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand.

The people of Ephesus were in this same kind of relationship. Their relationship was with God. In the beginning, when they first noticed Him, they went out of their way to please Him. They could NOT spend enough time with Him, always wanting to be with Him more and more. They talked with Him for hours upon hours and anything He asked them to do they would do their best to complete it to His satisfaction.

Then as they became "comfortable" with Him being around they didn't feel the need to do as much. "We are together now..." So they began to do less and less and the time they spent together became shorter and shorter.

I am sad to say that I too have fallen into these type of pitfalls. Both spiritually with my Heavenly Father and literally with my wife. In the book of Revelation, the writer, encourages the people of Ephesus to RETURN to their first love. So we are not alone in losing sight along the way or becoming distracted; but they were also advised of the potential danger of not returning to their first love.

The people of Ephesus had done a lot of things right, in fact all of them but ONE. They did not love God as much as they used to. Regardless of what you have done or are doing if you do not continue to love like you used to then you are not the only one missing out. Whatever distractions have come between you and your first love git rid of them and ENJOY your first love!

Return to your first love...