First love is, abandoning all for a love that abandons all. I heard this somewhere.
It’s how we feel when we first fall in love. We can’t spend enough time with one another, hang on every word, believe it all . . .
We can’t wait to introduce our new beau to everyone.
We abandon all, until the excitement dims into the mundane, and one day we find ourselves asking the one who gave us shivers to take out the trash and stop hogging the bed. And we wonder how it happened.
We lose the freshness and the presence.
Somehow time, people, and responsibilities took first place.
It can be the same when we experience Jesus for the first time. I remember looking up at my Love at first sight. I needed to be shackled. I was reckless and zealous in declaring my love and had to tell everyone within reach. Every. One.
The image of life faded into the deep wash of grace. Of course, I had to tell someone!
Are we still as passionate about our relationship with Christ, or do we need to rekindle our first love?
You may have been bruised by life and fallen out of love with the One who abandoned all for you. Or maybe you haven’t met yet. I’d love to be matchmaker . . . wink.
If you allow Him to court you, He will bring gifts. Jewels of faith. He will whisper unfailing love into your ear, and come on bended knee to ask you to spend the rest of your life with Him.
His rival comes courting and does all he can to rob us of our deep devotion and complicate our relationship with Jesus. We get caught up in intellectualizing the Bible instead of receiving just the simple beauty of His love letter.
At the end of the day, and at the end of our life, only one relationship will matter. The one with the Redeemer.
Revisit your sacred moment.
Jesus, restore to us the excitement of first holy glance.
I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and patient endurance. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen from your first love. Turn back to Me. Revelation 2:2, 4-5
Verna
dale barris says
April 25, 2013 at 12:29 pmvery well stated thank you
verna says
April 25, 2013 at 5:23 pmThanks for visiting and leaving the kind comment, Dale!
dale barris says
April 25, 2013 at 12:29 pmvery well stated thank you
verna says
April 25, 2013 at 5:23 pmThanks for visiting and leaving the kind comment, Dale!
Glenda Mills says
April 25, 2013 at 7:16 pmThis is beautiful Verna! Staying in love with our first love continues to take the deep wash of the grace of God. Thanks for sharing!
verna says
April 26, 2013 at 7:23 amI can still smell the scent of the lady who prayed with me the day I received “my first love!” I have to revisit that moment often. Thank you, Glenda. Hope your trip went well!
Glenda Mills says
April 25, 2013 at 7:16 pmThis is beautiful Verna! Staying in love with our first love continues to take the deep wash of the grace of God. Thanks for sharing!
verna says
April 26, 2013 at 7:23 amI can still smell the scent of the lady who prayed with me the day I received “my first love!” I have to revisit that moment often. Thank you, Glenda. Hope your trip went well!
Laura says
April 25, 2013 at 8:36 pmAwesome, Verna. What a picture you have painted of the One who woos our soul. An especially good reminder regarding receiving His love letter purely-not intellectually. I think, in our humanity, we always want to be examining everything and trying to figure it out-how sad, we miss the pure and simple intent. Thank you for sharing.
verna says
April 26, 2013 at 7:25 amYes, we do . . . early on there was so much I didn’t understand . . . then I got to the place where I wanted to understand more than I was supposed to (!) . . . now, glad to just understand what I do. 🙂 By His grace.
Geraldine Van Biljon says
April 30, 2013 at 8:58 amI agree, I agree, I agree! Restore our first love Lord! Help us to love you as fiercely as you love us!!!
vernabowman says
April 30, 2013 at 2:39 pmThank you, Geraldine for stopping by, and enthusiasm! Tell me about the first time you met!
Geraldine Van Biljon says
April 30, 2013 at 8:58 amI agree, I agree, I agree! Restore our first love Lord! Help us to love you as fiercely as you love us!!!
vernabowman says
April 30, 2013 at 2:39 pmThank you, Geraldine for stopping by, and enthusiasm! Tell me about the first time you met!
Geraldine Van Biljon says
May 1, 2013 at 4:01 amHey 🙂
Well, I wrote a short piece on my testimony if you would like to check it out below.
I met the Lord before I gave my heart to Him completely. I was a little girl, around 5 years old. Loads of crazy things were happening in our house and I remember holding my baby brother in the corner of our bedroom, I’d cover us completely with a blanket and sing a sweet song I was taught at day-care – ”Jesus loves us this I know for the bible tells us so … ” until he’d calm down and the fear would leave. I think that was when the first part of our relationship developed.
We did not grow up in a particularly ”christian” environment, even thought I remember my folks going to church for a very short time, but our whole household knew His Name was the Name above all names!
Eventually years later, the Lord approached me again, in High school and He finally romanced me to the point of giving Him my entire heart to Him on the 2 Jan 2005.
I had not been led in any sort of prayer but I was captivated!!! A week later a dear servant of the Lord led myself and my brother in the prayer to receive the Lord wholly … AAHHhhh … I love Jesus Christ!! Now I feel all emotional remembering all the way back when he first showed me His gorgeous love!!
http://geraldinevanbiljon.wordpress.com/my-white-picket-fence-story-3/
Geraldine Van Biljon says
May 1, 2013 at 4:07 amHey Verna,
Thanks for asking me to tell you how I met the Lord. My heat is full and something in me exploded in a good way, in love. Our testimonies are really something spectacular aren’t they 🙂
My White Picket Fence story has a few more details regarding my journey with our Awesome King 🙂
http://geraldinevanbiljon.wordpress.com/my-white-picket-fence-story-3/
Janeen Ippolito says
April 30, 2013 at 7:55 pmThis pegs me right in a hard place. A combination of life experience and a naturally analytical personality makes me really resistant to the idea of unconditional love. It baffles me completely–because in my heart, I know I’m not worth it, and I also know that no one is capable of giving it. Except for God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s a ridiculously, absurdly beautiful truth that requires a daily surrender of all of my defenses and so-called intellectualism to fully accept. Even then, the breadth of God’s love is indescribable–and that is a very good thing.
verna says
May 1, 2013 at 7:01 amJaneen, I love your response . . . it is ridiculous, absurd, and the beautiful truth in how He loves you and me . . . and us. . . . and all. . . Indescribable.
Janeen Ippolito says
April 30, 2013 at 7:55 pmThis pegs me right in a hard place. A combination of life experience and a naturally analytical personality makes me really resistant to the idea of unconditional love. It baffles me completely–because in my heart, I know I’m not worth it, and I also know that no one is capable of giving it. Except for God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s a ridiculously, absurdly beautiful truth that requires a daily surrender of all of my defenses and so-called intellectualism to fully accept. Even then, the breadth of God’s love is indescribable–and that is a very good thing.
verna says
May 1, 2013 at 7:01 amJaneen, I love your response . . . it is ridiculous, absurd, and the beautiful truth in how He loves you and me . . . and us. . . . and all. . . Indescribable.