Christian Living

---

Remember your first love
By Cecelia Campbell

‘Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.’ Revelation 2 v 4

Remember the first time you fell in love? That rush of emotion you experienced, you just couldn’t get enough of the one you love? Just thinking about him/her brought a smile to your face. Your thoughts were filled with images of him/her and you just wanted to be where he/she was.
That is basically the same emotions we experienced when we first accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour. You have this sense of excitement that the both of you can accomplish anything. You search the Bible like a starving man and you find every occasion to talk to Him.
Sadly, many of us have forgotten what it is like to be in love with God. Our attempts at communicating with Him are pathetic at best. We no longer find His love letters (the Word) exciting to read and we certainly use every occasion not to be with his friends (the church).
What has happened? How could a love this good go so bad? Many Christians today have backslidden and are wondering how they managed to lose the best thing they have ever had – their salvation.
It is not hard to figure out. Just like our earthly marriages, it takes work – and a lot of it. Don’t expect to get closer to God by staying far from Him.
Communication is very important to God. One sure way of maintaining your relationship is to have an active prayer life. Not just an half-hearted attempt of asking favours. Remember, communication is a two-way street and not one where you yap constantly and don’t spend the time to listen. After praying, read the Bible prayerfully or just meditate for a while, you will be surprised at what God can place on your heart in those precious moments.
If you love someone you want to spend a lot of time with them – try spending valuable time with God. Set aside a special time of the day when you will focus on Him only. Make sure you don’t forsake the assembling of the righteous. Going to church is an important part of fellowship.
Once you love someone then you have made up your mind to “go the distance in your relationship”. Unfortunately, at the first sign of trouble many forget the promise they made to God and turn their backs on Him. We have to recognize that when troubles come into the relationship we are in a partnership for life. God loves us and just because we hit some rocky patches doesn’t mean the relationship is over.
We hurt when our life’s partner cheats on us. We feel so betrayed that we want to walk away from the relationship. But we have a faithful partner for life in God and yet we tirelessly flaunt our ‘affairs’ in His face. If we are so in love with Him how come we are so wrapped up in the world? How come we have time for everything else but Him? How come we can easily do wrong and not give it a second thought?
He is hurting too because He loves us so much. It is time that we get back to the old landmark and remember all the wonderful reasons we fell in love with God. Like the way He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for our sins; the way He keeps forgiving us even when we don’t deserve it; the way He never leaves us nor forsakes us; the way He remains faithful even when we are unfaithful; the way He keeps protecting us.
The list could go on and on but I am getting emotional and feeling some crazy love, so why don’t you start falling in love all over again with the Master – He is still there waiting.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE