Love Jesus First

There is a simplicity and purity about devotion to Christ that can easily be lost as we become more "sophisticated" in our faith. We know more about Jesus, and we're doing more for Him; but in the process, we often leave Jesus Himself behind. Jesus has a simple but earnest message for us, as He did for the first-century church in Ephesus: "You have forsaken your first love" (Rev. 2:4).

Jesus says in effect, "Your theology is straight. You are busy serving Me. You have lots of activity going on. But you're missing the pulse. You're neglecting the one thing that matters most—your love relationship with Me." He appeals to His people to repent and return to their first love.

In Ephesians 5 and elsewhere, the Bible uses marriage imagery to describe our relationship with Christ. As Christians, we are His bride.

So when Christ says, "You have forsaken your first love," He's not just speaking as a journalist reporting on the facts. He's not speaking as an employer giving a performance review. He's speaking as a wounded lover.

He's saying, "I remember what it was like when you first knew Me-when you were so grateful, so tenderhearted, so devoted to Me. I mattered more to you than anything or anyone else. But all that has changed now. You don't love Me as you once did."

When our love for Jesus grows cold and we grow distant, He is grieved. He's heartbroken. It's as if He is saying, "What happened to My bride? Where did you go? What happened to your heart?"

Sadly, I have known the experience, as perhaps have you, of going through the motions of living the Christian life—doing all the right things, serving in ministry, but doing it without passion for Christ.

When our relationship with Christ suffers, completing ministry tasks becomes more important to us than the people we are serving. Why? Because our love for others ultimately flows out of our love for Christ.

People are not impressed by our religious activity or theological correctness. They care about our love.

I've attended many funerals over the years, including some for well known Christian leaders. As I look back, the most meaningful ones have not been those where people praised the departed one for their impressive achievements or tireless efforts, but those where what stands out is the person's heart, as seen in their love for Christ and others.

When all is said and done, I don't want to be remembered for the books I wrote, the messages I gave, or the ministry I led. I don't want to be remembered primarily for my doctrinal precision or my tireless activity. I want to be remembered as a lover of Christ and His people.

As Steve Green reminds us in the song "The Mission,"

To love the Lord our God is the heartbeat of our mission, The spring from which our service overflows.^*

How is your love life with Jesus? Are you lacking spiritual intimacy, warmth, vitality, and power? Has your service for Him become mechanical? Jesus counsels us to remember what it was like when we loved Him with all our hearts, to turn from any competing loves (repent), and to return to those expressions of devotion that once characterized our relationship with Him.


*Words and music by Jon Mohr and Randall Dennis, © 1989.

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