Love, Charles

 

It was Valentine's Day 1975. His name was Charles. I still have the red Snoopy Valentine's Day Card he gave me in the fourth grade, complete with his devotion carefully scripted inside, which read: Love, Charles. It was my first elementary school crush. Since that time, decades have come and gone. Charles is somewhere in the world. Most likely, I will never see him again, but I smile when I occasionally come across my scrapbook that still holds this card. 

First crushes and later first loves the way we felt, the things we promised, and the certainty it would be everlasting. Such firsts have a way of remaining in our hearts forever. 

 Then it happens, whether from your first love or someone else: unwelcomed words, criticism, and a demand to change that is not easy to swallow. This is true not only in human love relationships but also in our spiritual ones. The disciple John had quite a job to do in telling the Christians at the Church of Ephesus that God had a grievance against them. 

Though they appeared to be "doing" everything right, their efforts turned out to be a detriment rather than a contribution to God's work. John warned them to correct this flaw in their ministry, or God would remove His hand of blessing from their church. The church was guilty of leaving their first love. 

As should be expected, the people were taken aback when they received John's message. The church was shaken, for they had the best of intentions. Hadn't they worked tirelessly for the kingdom? Didn't they take a stand against deceivers? What about the devotion to doing all manner of good things?" Yes was the answer to both questions. Still, their dedication to God was lacking because they were too busy "doing" the work of ministry that they had lost sight of the reason the very reason they were ministering. God's displeasure with them was not due to their reasonable efforts to serve Him, but in doing so, they had lost their first love. The works had replaced the devotion they once had to God. 

The busyness of ministry can lead us to the danger zone, where we lose sight of why we are serving. Like the Ephesians, we start with good intentions, but tireless efforts and not the Savior become the focus somewhere along the way. Sights, once set for a purpose, are lost. 

In ministry, there is a continuous call upon our lives to remember to " do the things we did first" when our relationship was new. It is the place to prepare our hearts again to serve our Master, Jesus Christ. 

First love. It is a good place to revisit from time to time. It reminds us of the joy, simple trust, and desire to care for and place others above ourselves. The same is true of our relationship with our Savior. In everything we do, let us remember the joy of our salvation, that faith that measured us to trust in Him, and the time when He was above everything else in our lives,

When we return to the first love of our heavenly Father, it is beginning again in our relationship with Him, a closer friendship that will never end; as beloved ones, we have much more than a greeting card to prove His love for us. He has written our love story and names in the Book of Life with His hand. Our relationship will never fade with time. It will never end.

My Dear One (That is you, friend),

You are my true love. I pledge my faithfulness to keep you 

until the day I redeem you. You are my own.

Love,

God, your Father

"Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first,"

Revelation 2:4-5