Have you lost your first Love?
Let me share with you two incidents that helped me to review my life recently to see whether I have lost my first love. One evening a police officer came to see me in my office. At that time I remembered how he had lived a radiant witnessing life for the Lord about twenty years ago. In those days he was very young in the Lord and was a very active Christian. Even though he was from a non- Christian background and faced many problems in life, he paid the price to be a witness at his office. He was also very active in his church activities. His commitment and life challenged me in those days. But when I met him recently, he told me many times, ‘Dear brother, I have lost my first love.’ So I asked him, “what happened to your zeal for God and your passion for souls?’ He told me,”I was very active in my church in those days. But now I have stopped preaching in the church. Now I attend the church very rarely. This is because of the heavy work in my office and the problems at home. Dear Brother, I have lost my first love. Kindly pray for me.” His words, ‘Dear brother, I have lost my first love’ pierced my heart very deeply.
Recently, I met a missionary who left everything and went as a missionary to a tribal hill station. I had the privilege of visiting his mission field three times to screen films and 1 was so really challenged by the concern that he had for the souls in that area. About twenty years ago, when he went there as a missionary, there were no Christians in that area. He was very zealous to win the people of that area to the Lord. When I met him about five years ago, there were more than three scores of believers and all of them were from the non-Christian background. I was very deeply touched when I preachedin his church a few years back. His ministry, concern for souls and commitment challenge me.
But when I met him two years ago, he was not in that organisation but was working as an independent worker in that area. When I spent time with him, I found that he had lost his first love. The devil used his love for material things to pull him away from the ministry in which he was involved in. Five years ago a young man from a foreign country visited his mission field. The foreigner was challenged by his concern for souls, and the growth of the church.The foreigner began to send money periodically.When the missionary started receiving the gifts from the young man regularly, he left his parent organisation and began to do independent ministry. He began to look to that young man for his support rather than the Lord.
When I met him two years back, he was backslidden and the Lord could not use him. The flow of funds did not meet all his needs. He closed down some’ projects. I advised him to join the parent organisation, but his heart was so hardened that he could not set himself right with God and join the parent organisation again. How sad, this missionary was carried away by the love for money and lost his rewarding and satisfying ministry!
Over the years in our pilgrimage in our spiritual life, we can also lose the first love like these two believers because of various reasons. Let us review our life in the light of the Scriptures and find out how we were many years ago, and how we are now in the Lord. Here are a few questions that will assist us to review our lives.
- Do I spend time in prayer as I spent once in prayer? How much time do I spend now in prayer?
- Do I spend time in the meditation of the word of God as I did once? Do I have a separate time to meditate the Word of God now?
- Do I take special efforts to reconcile with others as I did once? Do I find that something is wrong in my relationship with others including my family members?
- Do I have the same concern and burden to lead others into the kingdom of God as I had once? Do I give priority to win souls, and preach the gospel boldly as I did once?
- Do I fast and-pray for the perishing souls as I did once?
- Am I able to keep up my witness at home and office as I did once?
- Is there any change in my attitude towards the material things of the world over the years? Have I put the things of this world in the place of Christ?
- Do I take steps to set myself right with God and others immediately when the Lord convicts me of certain deficiencies in my life?
- Is there any area in my life, which is not surrendered to the Lord completely as it was many years ago?
- Do I work hard now to build my own empire rather than the kingdom of God?
In Revelation 2:5, the Bible says that those who have lost the first love must do the following three things.
- Remember the place from which you have fallen.
- Repent
- Redo the first works.
There is also a warning. The warning is that if we do not repent, the lampstand would be removed from its place. What will happen when the lamp stand is removed? We will not be able to be a witness to others as we were witnessing once (Rev. 2:5).
(Dr. C Barnabas, Translated from True Discipleship Mar-Apr. 2001)