Memories

Wednesday, June 01, 2011 Posted by Angie

Forgotten Love

My oldest son is finishing up fifth grade next week. He's got a couple of friends who are already a little "girl crazy". Thank goodness my son isn't that interested yet, but he does come home and tell me all the latest news. It seems every week one of his friends likes a different girl. Since they don't really do anything more than pass notes to one another through a mutual friend, I'm sure the only thrill they get from it is telling their friends who they're "going out with". Once the newness wears off, there's nothing left to do but break up.

Unfortunately there are some married couples who have the same mentality. If you've been married any length of time, it's not likely that you still get butterflies in your stomach every time you see your spouse come through the door. So maybe your feelings aren't always on fire, crazy in love like you once were. Maybe you've become so familiar with your spouse that it's just a hum drum, no sparks marriage...but you have no plans of leaving, you're totally committed to one another. While commitment is good, healthy marriages find a way to keep the spark of their "first love" going.

The same is true of the Lord...did you know that He doesn't want us to be so familiar in our long term "Christian walk" that we take Him for granted? Did you know that while He is happy that we're committed to Him, He really loved our excitement and zeal we had when we first came to know Him? It's true. He loved how grateful we were when we realized we'd been saved out of our sin. How excited we once were to share our new found faith with everyone we knew. How we loved to read His Word more than anything else, and made prayer & worship our top priorities. Remember when gathering together with other believers was like a wellspring of life? Okay, so I'm paraphrasing...let's look at how God put it:

"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 it's place - unless you repent." Rev. 2:4-5

My study Bible has these footnotes about the above verse: "The spiritual vitality springing from love for the Lord had degenerated into orthodox routine."

No matter how long you walk with the Lord, don't forget your first love! Keep the romance between you & your Savior fresh and new by spending time alone with Him. Avoid falling into religious routines. Commitment is good, but love is what He's really after.