First Love by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

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

I have turned into one of those grandmothers. Every chance, whether people like it or not, I am going to share the latest photos of my sweet grandson, William. That’s because William has captured my heart and I want to tell others about him.

We speak about what we love. What do you like to talk about?

In Revelation 2, the Lord had a lot of compliments for the church at Ephesus—the members worked hard for the Lord, they were patient, and they hated evil—but they had forgotten the most important thing and that is to Love God with all their heart. It’s a biblical commandment to love God, part of the Shema found in Deuteronomy 6:4, that says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” In Matthew 22:38, Jesus states it is the most important commandment. However, like the church at Ephesus, have we forgotten our first love? Do we love God so much that we gush with love for Him?

Is God our favorite subject?

I will confess that I am a lot like the church in Ephesus. Through our ministry and my schooling, I work very hard for the Lord. I may need more patience, but I do hate evil as I continue a fight against antisemitism through our documentary work. Today, I am presenting a class on antisemitism that I created for our large church. I am thrilled to educate people about this topic because this is a new passion of mine. I love my Jewish heritage and I want to help the Jewish people fight this evil. However, I can get so bogged down with the do-gooding that there’s no time left to pour out love to God and to share that love with others.

We need to ask ourselves, Is God still our first love?

When I was sixteen, I wrote a song called First Love for my future husband. In the song, I told my future husband that he would always be my second love because God was my first love. The chorus said: You are my first love, and always my greatest love. I hope He’s the same love that you express to me. I want to get back to that place where God is my first love. What about you? I want to share about God as much as I share about my grandson. Love is contagious. When our hearts burst with love for our Heavenly Father, others will want to feel that love as well, and our visible display of love may draw someone into a relationship with the One who invented love.

Challenge: Will you share your love for God with someone today?