Returning to Our First Love
As we come to the closing book of the Bible we hear these touching words of our Savior, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Revelation 2:4). Christ reached into the heart of His people when He spoke these words.
Even as our Lord makes the comparison between Him and His bride, the Church, we find we can make the application between husbands and wives today. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord" (Colossians 3:18).
We are thankful that we had the privilege of having Sam and Debbie Wood with us for the Celebration of Marriage Seminar! We all need reminders to be what we ought to be to each other and to arrange our priorities in life that declares our love.
Using the analogy of “first love” let us see how a married couple may return to the love that originally brought them together.
1. There is a difference between losing and leaving.
First of all, I believe that love is a gift from God. He gave you the love you have for one another. The Devil would love to lie to you and tell you when you married it was a mistake. He likes to whisper that in your ear when he observes things coming between you. Understand that Satan is acting in his ancient pattern and he never changes; He is called, "the accuser of our brethren..." (Revelation 12:10). Jesus said, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him...for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). Jesus also said of this Prince of Darkness, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..." (John 10:10). We need to tell the Devil that he will not steal, kill, or destroy what God has given us in our marriage!
Examine carefully the wording our Lord uses; He said to His church, “thou hast left thy first love." It is powerful to note that He used the word “left” - He did not say “lost.” This is an easy phrase to miss. This is perhaps one of the most frequently misquoted phrases from Scripture. There is a world of difference between losing and leaving. For instance, if I lose my glasses (which I often do) I am turning things upside down, getting on my hands and knees with a flashlight, looking under things. I am re-tracing my steps. If I leave my glasses, which I do every night before I go to sleep. I know right where they are. They are on the night stand right next to my clock and the last book I was reading. I can have my hand on them in two seconds. I know right where I left them.
Your love is right where you left it. You did not lose it. The chemistry that ignited when you met is still there, it just needs to be rekindled.
2. How do we return to the first love?
Our Lord said in Revelation 2: 5, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works...." In the next verse after He mentions leaving our first love, He says in essence, remember, repent, and return. "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength..." (Isaiah 30:15). After the plea to return, Jesus gives a very practical word, “…do the first works.” In other words, what it took to bring you close to each other is what it will take to keep you close to each other. Perhaps it was a series of love letters. Maybe it was a long walk coupled with a long talk and no agenda. You remember the thrill of just being together? Get together with no other purpose other than getting together. When you are married, you certainly don’t need an excuse to get together! This thought brings to mind the Scripture when Jesus said, "...these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Luke 11:42). Let us ask ourselves what has been left undone and then determine with God’s help to do it. William Wordsworth said, “That best portion of a good man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” Although he wrote these words in 1798, they are as relevant today as they were before his ink dried! I would encourage us all to remember those precious acts of kindness and love and put them to work the same magic now as they did when we fell in love for the first time.
3. When do we return to our first love?
Now. God always encourages us to do the right thing now. For instance He says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD..." (Isaiah 1:18). "...behold, now is the accepted time..." (II Corinthians 6:2). The Devil always tells people to procrastinate. Pharaoh kept putting Moses off until the next day. Pharaoh’s tomorrows finally ran out. Felix said to Paul, "...when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 24:25). The convenient season was never recorded to have come. He had his season in the present moment of his conviction, but he refused to act on his knowledge of right.
Today is the time to let God put your marriage back together. The past is spent and we cannot recall one minute of it and tomorrow is a promissory note. All we have is today. Let us operate in the cash flow of this present hour. Make the call, speak the apology, say the word, and love each other now! Don’t wait until your situation becomes perfect. There are no perfect marriages any more than there are perfect people. Act now! Our perfect Lord, with His perfect timing will bring His perfect presence into our mess and make it as close to perfect as we can know this side of a perfect heaven.
- Pastor Pope -