“First Love” – Part 2

This is the conclusion of a 2-part blog post series on the subject of “first love.” (To read Part 1, click here.)

And let me just remind you about what “first love” is.

“First love” is that person or thing that’s #1 in your life. Right? And you just can’t live without that person or thing. And if anyone would dare even think about taking that person or thing from you, you wouldn’t be very happy. And you’ll do anything to keep that person or thing as your “first love.”

THE EPHESIANS’ “FIRST LOVE”

In the book of Revelation 2:1-7 the first century Christians in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor had God as their “first love.” Christ was #1 to them. And they just couldn’t live without Jesus. And if anyone would dare even think about taking Him from the center of their life, they wouldn’t be very happy. And they’d do anything to keep the Lord their “first love.”

But then something happened to the first century Christians in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor. Something happened and Jesus was no longer their “first love.”

DEEPER ISSUES THAT CAPTURE OUR AFFECTION

And this same thing can happen to us. There are things that can capture our affection away from Christ. I am calling them deeper issues versus cars, music, food or “crushes” that I highlighted in Part 1.

And we’re continuing to look at some important “first love” passages to go along with the first deeper issue: the love of money that I’ve already talked about.

And you may have never thought of these as “first love” passages, but they really are.

DEEPER ISSUE #2: MOM AND DAD / FAMILY.

The next “first love” passage is found in Matthew 8:21-22 where a disciple asks Jesus if he (the disciple) can bury his father. Was his father dying or near death? Or was he still alive and the disciple wanted to remain with him until he died and then he would follow the Lord? Whatever the case, Jesus deals with a “first love” issue on the part of the disciple. He was called to follow the Lord right then and not to allow family concerns to get in the way.

Along with this passage I want to have you notice Matthew 10:37 where Jesus talks about how our love for family must not surpass our love for Him. If it does, we really don’t love Him.

And then now in Luke 14:26 our Lord says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate (in comparison with his love for Me) his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”

And so we discover that mom and dad / family can capture our affection away from Christ. (Mom and dad / family can stand for anything like a gang, peer group, people group, political affiliation, etc.)

How does it show itself?

When a person is afraid to go against their parents / family / spouse to stand alone in his faith ~ this is one way it shows itself.

As it has to do with me, I’ve always longed for another family member in my immediate family to be saved. It was a very lonely start when I became a Christian. It was very hard. But I knew what was in my heart. Something had happened! My mom said she would never come and hear me preach unless I became a priest. Since then she’s accepted me. I found out later of others in my extended family who knew the Lord. My twin cousins, born on the same day as me, are Christians. They both went to Bible school just like me. One pastors a large church in Concord, California. (There must have been something in the water that day we were conceived!)

But I’m talking about deeper issue #2 that can capture our affection away from Christ. We might not think it would get in the way, but it can ~ our family, our mom and dad.

DEEPER ISSUE #3: MEN-PLEASING.

Which brings us to another “first love” passage you may never of thought it was, but it is ~ and deeper issue #3.

In John 19:12-16 we find Pilate has a conversation with Jesus and then he works to release Him. Ultimately, he gives in to the crowd’s desires instead. It all boils down to Pilate wants to remain on Caesar’s good side (John 19:12) and so Pilate condemns Jesus to death.

And so men-pleasing can capture our affection away from Christ.

When we’re worried about what people will say about us or think about us or how they’ll treat us and so we compromise and do things we wouldn’t otherwise do or don’t do things we would normally do ~ this is men-pleasing.

(This is a hard one to confess to!) I didn’t say “grace” at dinner when my in-laws were in town! I prayed to myself. It just goes to show how men-pleasing can capture us when we least expect it and no matter how spiritual we are. (Has it ever happened to you?) Just when you think you’re spiritual, you’ll find out you’re not. (Matthew 16:16; 21-23)

And so this is deeper issue #3 that can capture our affection away from Christ: men-pleasing.

DEEPER ISSUE #4: MINISTRY.

Which brings us finally back to our initial text in the first part of this blog post series: Revelation 2:1-7.

And what really was the “first love” issue that stole the Ephesians’ hearts from Christ?

It wasn’t money. It wasn’t mom and dad. It wasn’t men-pleasing.

I’ll tell you what it was. Do you know?

It was ministry!

The Ephesians had all this stuff going on at their church. They were busy doing all these things.

Just listen to some of what the church at Ephesus was busy with. The first part of Revelation 2:2 says that they were toiling – literally doing hard, tiring work – like laying down tile in the fellowship hall! (which is what we had going on at our church when I first preached this message!) – and they were also persevering – pressing on, not giving up – though things were surely challenging for them as they are in any church. Could it be that they were in the middle of a building program and the finances were just trickling in? Or maybe they were in the midst of an evangelistic campaign and the abundance of new converts was overwhelming their discipleship capacity? Or maybe it was just that the children’s pastor recently resigned to go to another church and now they had to the shoulder his load for a while until they could find a replacement? Certainly a whole host of different things like these were going on in the Ephesian church at that time. But they were dealing with it. And Christ even commended them for their good work.

But somewhere in the midst of all the church at Ephesus was busy with, they’d lost sight of what their Christian life was really all about. You see, what they were doing had become more important to them than their relationship with God. That’s why in Revelation 2:4 Jesus says to the Ephesians…

“[You] have left your first love.”

It’s the final deeper issue I wanted to bring up (ministry is) that can capture our affection away from Christ.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR FIRST LOVE BACK?

And so how do you get your “first love” back? How do you make Jesus your #1 affection again if something else has captured it away (Money, Mom and Dad, Men-Pleasing, Ministry)?

It’s like anything else in the Christian life. Confess your sin. Commit yourself to repentance (literally, you’re never gonna leave your “first love” again). Then, connect with Christ and never let go.

(Tomb of Saint John the Apostle picture above is in the public domain: click here.)