I was turning into my neighborhood the other day when I caught a glimpse of the newly built houses sitting on the corner of the street. I was immediately saddened, my mind left drifting to the times of my childhood when those lots were empty fields of grass where children could run and play. Frowning, I realized those days are long gone. The memories of simpler times have now been replaced with perfectly erect houses and pristinely gated driveways.
I got to thinking, as I usually do, about how God must see us in relation to this picture. People who once fell so deeply in love with Him that any other desire ranked far below the need to know Him more. People who would do anything to feel a loving touch from their Savior. And yet, in the midst of the chaos of life, we have been tempted to forget our first love, instead choosing to build monuments of worldly things on top of the place where our blissful contentment used to sit.
It is a deeply sad thing to realize that you are no longer simply content with the Maker of the Universe, the Creator of your soul, the One who knit your very identity together. The moment we idolize something else in this world – a promotion, a relationship, a dream – we lay the foundation to begin burying our first love.
When did simply loving God and seeking His face become not enough? We proclaim that He must bless us more, give us more, heal us more before we will give all our love and trust to Him. We put conditions on a love that was once so free and beautiful, on a love that has always been given to us without requiring anything in return.
We hold onto our desires and our plans, unwilling to surrender them, unwilling to hand them over to the only One who is capable of safeguarding them. And we hold onto what He hasn’t done for us, doubting His goodness, all the while adding bricks to the structure that sits upon the memory of our first love.
And if we aren’t careful, we will build a house there. A house of insatiable desires, unanswered prayers, unaccomplished dreams, frightened unbelief, and miserable lack of trust. We place these all on God, forcing Him to resolve this pile of issues before we will again return to the unmatched love we once felt for Him.
But reader, we must recognize and destroy this dangerous house. The Lord of all Creation deserves to be loved simply because of who He is. Regardless of what He does or doesn’t do for us (need I remind you… His plan is perfect), He is altogether holy and worthy of being praised. He is blameless, perfect, unfailing, steadfast, faithful. He is enough.
Let’s learn a lesson from children. They live their lives blissfully unaware of any type of lack, loving purely and unselfishly. They laugh and play, running through the fields where we have gradually built our houses and staked our conditions in front of the Lord.
Come, return to your first love.
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“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” Revelation 2:2-5
Casting Anchors 