Every time I sit down to write, it is always because I have been convicted in some way and my heart has been pricked or my toes have been stepped on by something I have read in the scriptures or heard in a sermon or Bible class. I was asking myself a question today. Actually two questions. 

First, is Jesus truly my first love?

Second, how do I keep all things new in my life spiritually?

Revelation 2 talks about a church who had left its first love. The church is made up of people,  right? So therefore the people had left their first love…..Jesus. They were doing everything right from the outside looking in, but it had become a checklist that they were following. They were playing church just like kids play house or play school. They were going through the motions of worship but their hearts were not in it. We can’t ever forget that Jesus knows our hearts and minds. He knows if we don’t really want to be there. He knows if we are doing things for him just out of our duty and not true desire and zeal for His purpose. We cannot fool God no matter how many good works we do. Our love for Him, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ and our love for the lost has to be our reason for everything we do. 

It’s easy to say that Jesus is our first love, but does our life show that he actually is number one? Do we listen to God/Christ by reading his word each day? Do we talk to Him in prayer every day throughout our day? Do we think of Him before we make big decisions? Do we uplift and build up our spiritual family by being at worship services and Bible study services?  Do we make our plans around our congregation’s church services, Bible study services, gospel meeting, VBS, etc. as best we can? Are we living out our faith in our everyday life? When a door opens with an opportunity to help someone understand the gospel, do we take that opportunity or are we afraid to stand up for the One we say is our first love? Do we see people outside of Christ the way Jesus sees them, as someone who is spiritually sick and in need of the Great Physician? All these are questions that I thought of under the heading, “is Jesus truly my first love?”. It hit me this morning. I would stand up for my husband and my children and give my life for them. What about Christ? Is he more important to me than those closest to me? My thought was, “he better be ” because He is the reason I have my precious husband and my precious children (all 4 of them). He has blessed my life and been so patient with me at times when I wasn’t giving Him a second thought, I’m ashamed to say. Sometimes we get caught up in life and we get numb in our spiritual lives. I know I have many times. Life is hard and busy and disappointing (and tragic) sometimes. But Jesus knows our struggles and He knows everything we go through because He went through the same things as a human walking on this earth. The only difference is He was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) He is our ultimate example that we strive to follow. 

Now, second question, how do we keep things new in our spiritual lives? We make all things new when we are baptized, but how do we keep our heart new and humble. Paul said in Philippians 4:11-12 that he learned to be content in all things and in all situations that life threw his way. He trained himself to be content with wherever he was, including prison, and whatever he was going through, including being stoned and left for dead. The point is, we have the greatest gift right now because we are in Christ’s kingdom on earth and the most glorious reward coming later if we are in Christ and being found faithful to Him when we pass away or when He returns, whichever happens first. In Revelation 2:10 Jesus makes this promise, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”  He’s our Savior. He gave up everything for us. Let that sink in. Our Creator gave up everything for us. He came down from His glorious home in heaven with his father, was born in a stable, walked on earth, became a lowly servant, was beaten beyond recognition and then died the most shameful and painful death imaginable….. for us! (Philippians 2:6-8) So yes, we can be content if we truly have Him as our first love…..for real. We won’t be worried so much about material things in this life if Christ is our first love. 

What about our focus? This has always been a tough one for me personally. It has taken me a long time to truly realize what my true purpose is on this earth…..what my main focus should be. Our life is so full of all kinds of things that don’t really matter in the end. Sometimes God/Christ gets lost in there among everything else. Just like in Matthew 13:22, the parable of the sower, the thorns which represent the cares of this world and materialism can choke out the gospel and blur our focus and we become of no use in God’s kingdom, the church. Our focus has to be sharp or Christ will be completely gone from our mind if we are not careful. We all get sidetracked sometimes. We have to try very hard to keep our focus on Jesus. Everything else in life will fall into place if our focus is Jesus, His word, and His church. This doesn’t mean we can’t have things, do fun things, strive for things we want, but we can’t let those things rule our hearts and become idols. So focusing on Jesus….is another thing that helps keep all things new. How do we stay focused? 2 Timothy 2:15 says we are to study. It’s a commandment. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the “word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Bible is powerful and will have an effect on us if we let it. Staying in God’s word daily as much as we can, even if it is just a few minutes, helps us keep our focus and stay grounded in the truth. 

Last is effort. We won’t be content and we won’t be focused without effort. If Jesus is truly our first love, then we will put forth effort in things that truly matter. It takes effort to study the Bible and to slow down enough to pray. It takes effort to get up every Sunday for Bible study and worship. It takes effort to make it to mid-week Bible study after working all day. Effort to be involved with our youth and help with youth activities such as VBS and other things. Effort to make food for someone who is sick or lost a loved one. Effort to send a card or call someone who is sick or bereaved. And the list goes on and on of ways we can show others Christ living in us. I’m guilty. I don’t put forth effort like I should. I’m not saying we can earn our way to heaven. Grace is what gets us there. (Ephesians 2:8-9) However, grace does not mean that we don’t have to do anything. We have to put forth effort. James 2:14-26 explains in detail that “Faith without works is dead”. Obviously, we can’t do everything, but we can try to do as much as we can. We can be content, stay focused on Jesus, and put forth our best effort toward His purpose. If we do these things, we will stay spiritually new. When we fall short, God is always ready to take us back and lift us up through His word. Let’s always remember “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” We are the called if we have repented of our sins, confessed Jesus’ name before others, been baptized for the remission of our sins, and are living faithful to Him.

(Repentance and baptism, Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16) (Confessing Jesus’ name, Matthew 10:32)