Musing on the familiar passage (below) in the New Testament book of Revelation brought to mind my own “first love” in my early teens. I thought of summer nights with my sweetheart when breezes scented with the heady aromas of orchards and new mown fields perfectly complemented the new sensations of young love and when the “accidental” touch of our fingertips could send a bolt of electricity shimmering up my arm.

First love can overwhelm every other consideration. Entering a room, it is our beloved’s face we seek. We want to stay close, to touch him, to listen to his words, and learn everything we can about him. This fresh emotion colors everything else in our life. However, such infatuations, no matter how intense, eventually fade away if they do not ripen into mature love.

In Revelation 2 the church at Ephesus was admonished for letting their first love fade. The Church of today seems to be suffering from the same malady. How have we gotten so far from our First Love?  One of the techniques used by some marriage counselors is to have couples reminisce about what brought them together in the first place. Often, these sweet memories rekindle a flickering relationship. Perhaps our churches need to set aside times in worship to remind each of us what we love about our Savior and why we call ourselves Christians.

 

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You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. – Rev. 2 (NIV)