Resurrected Love

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.'
                                                                                                                                  Psalm 143:8




Throughout our lives we learn the certainty that sometimes the people we love will fall and sometimes they will fail us. When we have been disappointed frequently it is not uncommon to hedge our bets, so to speak, by attempting to insulate our lives with the people we believe will never let us down. And yet, the inevitability of that will ultimately knock on the door once again. This is because humanity left unto itself frequently will make the wrong choice.

The true constant that we can take to the bank is that God's love for us is always unfailing. He never wavers or waffles or changes His mind. In fact, He is so intent on pouring out His love on us that He constantly woos us and pursues us, even if we try to hold Him at an arms length. Or, even further.

Sometimes we even emotionally distance ourselves from God without even recognizing the truth of it. We may still go to church, or be involved in Bible studies, or serve relentlessly until we are exhausted. At the heart of it we don't want God out of our lives, but we have lost the passion and intensity for Jesus that we once had.

This issue was addressed by Jesus in the book of Revelation. As He was speaking to one of the seven churches, He said this, "I know thy works and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou cannot bear those that are evil...Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick" (Revelation 2:2-5).

There are a myriad of reasons that cause us to pull away. In John Bunyan's book, The Pilgrim's Progress, he gives four primary reasons that people begin to pull back from their relationship with Christ. These reasons are: a mind that is not renewed, fear of man, pride, and refusal to acknowledge their sin and the danger coming to them if they do not receive forgiveness from the Lord.

When Bunyan referenced the mind that is not renewed, he said that the conscience had been awakened but that that was unsustainable until the thinking is transformed. When the power of "guilt and fear is gone, their desires for heaven and happiness die, and they return to their course again." Reformation without transformation will never endure, nor will it be productive.

The second reason that Bunyan cites is being overwhelmed by the fear of man. He derives this precept from the book of Proverbs where it says, "The fear of man brings a snare"(Proverbs 29:25). The snare is that they fail to recognize what they are losing and what unavoidable and unnecessary troubles they are allowing into their lives.

The third reason cited for falling away from Christ is pride. This means that they are unwilling to face the shame that comes from the world regarding the Gospel. When push-back from the world intensifies, instead of running to Jesus they actually run away from Him.

The last reason Bunyan gives for abandoning our "first love" is that we don't want to face our own guilt and sin and receive the grace and forgiveness that God lavishes upon us. Each time we refuse His mercies our hearts become harder and harder. To remain within this trajectory predisposes us to a heart of stone that opposes God altogether.

It is deceptive to believe that neutrality can coexist with our belief in Christ. Either we are for Him or we are against Him. Either we are moving forward in our walk with Him or we are moving backward. Either our love for Him is increasing or it is decreasing.

If we think back to that moment when we accepted Jesus into our hearts and began to understand just how much He loves us and has done for us, it provides the baseline of our love for Him. At that time, how much did you read your Bible? How much did you pray? What other things did you do to feel close to God?

When you look at your relationship with Jesus today, has your love increased or has it decreased? Do you read the Bible more today or do you read it less?  Do you pray more today or do you pray less? What are the things you do each day to feel close to God? To stay connected to The Vine?

If you find yourself in a place today that is less passionate than it was in the beginning, think about these truths:

a.) Friendship with the world makes us an enemy to God  (James 4:4)
b.) Littles "foxes" (compromises) destroy the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15)
c.) Neglecting our God-given responsibilities makes us weak (2 Samuel 11:1)
d.) Choosing temporal things over eternal things causes destruction (Genesis 13:11)
e.) Reformation without transformation doesn't work (Proverbs 13:20)
f.) We have to be connected and accountable to other Christians (Hebrews 3:13)
g.) We have to pray to avoid temptation (Matthew 26:41)
h.) We have to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
i.) We cannot allow failure to deter us (Proverbs 24:16)
j.) We cannot allow ourselves to be bitter towards God because of circumstances (Job 2:9)
k.) We cannot fight temptation; We must flee from it (1 Timothy 6:11)


Jesus provided us with the solution if we have strayed from our first love. He tells us to: Remember, Repent, and Repeat. We remember the love we once had for Him and we yearn for it once again. We repent for anything we have done or failed to do that has allowed a wedge in our relationship with Him. We open our hearts and receive His forgiveness and grace. Then, we begin to do again those things that caused us to be close to Him and passionate for Him. We believe God for a resurrected love for the Only One who is worthy of it!


                                         "We love because He first loved us."
                                                      1 John 4:19