Fola Komolafe

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Revelation 2:4 (NKJV)

You may be old enough to remember the song, Endless Love by Diana Ross. One of the lines in the song says. “My first love, You’re every breath that I take, You’re every step I make.” I am sure she was not thinking about God when she sang the song, however, whilst secular rather than spiritual it describes an all encompassing first love that dominates everything that is thought and done. Consider also two people who first realise they are in love – oh the excitement, the joy, the deep desire to spend every second of the day together, the constant conversation, laughter and wanting to tell everybody about the love they have found. No matter how strong, human love sometimes will fail but Gods love never fails, never changes and never grows cold with time. God should be your first love every single day and you should be so excited, so desirous of Him, so passionate and so conscious of Him in everything you think, everything you say and yes, every step you take.

In the letter to the church at Ephesus, the Spirit of God commends them for all the things they were doing, things we would naturally hold in high esteem – their works, their labour, their enduring patience and their non tolerance of evil. However He goes on to say one thing against them, they have left their first love. You get a deeper sense of this when you read it in the classic amplified version. It says, “But I have this one charge to make against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].” I am sure like you some of those words just tug at your heart – words like ‘abandoned’ and ‘you have deserted me, your first love’. How is it possible to be so full of good works and efforts, so full of patience, seeking good and not evil yet abandon the very person for whom, to whom and through whom you do all things? How is it possible to forget and to leave behind your heart, your core, your first love? It is possible as seen here and you need to be on your guard! It is possible to be so caught up in doing that you forget to love, to love God afresh each day, to love His presence, to long for His voice, to be so desirous of quiet and undisturbed moments with Him and to let Him fill your thoughts and your steps. It is possible to be so busy and sometimes so busy for God that you leave Him behind. Be on your guard and always remember your first love! God is your first love!

1 John 4:19 says, ‘we love him, because he first loved us.’ He took the first step in loving us and He loves us as much today as when He first loved us. In fact Jesus tells us in John 17:23 that God loves us as much as He loved Him. Nothing you do will stop God from loving you and each day His loving kindness, His steadfast love towards you are new. I challenge you to tell God everyday that He is your first love, not second, not third, but your first love and go one step further by showing Him He comes first by spending time being in His presence.

Jesus said, “And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment (Mark 12:30 AMPC).”

Note – For more teachings visit ‘The Fresh Inspiration’ podcasts on iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud:

iTunes/Apple Podcasts: ‎Fresh Inspiration Podcast on Apple Podcasts

Spotify: Fresh Inspiration Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

Soundcloud: Fresh Inspiration | Free Listening on SoundCloud

If you are not yet a partner with Fresh Inspiration, we would like to ask you to consider supporting our work in delivering hope to millions of people around the world. If you would like to become a partner kindly setup a standing order for your donations to Fresh Inspiration using the account details below and please let us know by completing our  'become a partner form' on our website. Thank you.