"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." - Revelation 2:4

"At age nine, I accepted the Lord into my heart. Subsequent years have continually displayed the wonder of His love. They have also presented a challenge in learning how to respond to this amazing reality.

During the 1960's, my life was filled with the joys and opportunities of being a young wife and mother. As the daughter of a pastor, I knew the importance of seeking God's will for our lives and of being involved in Christian activity. My focus was filled with church, family and work but it was in the midst of 'the good life' that I lost sight of God's higher vision -- the vision of a deep and rich love relationship with Him!

It was not that church activity was the problem, nor other responsibilities. There are many wonderful things that come out of one's consistent commitment to church and family life. The issue was that I had allowed the good to become an enemy to what was best. Even good things can keep us from knowing the Lord as our first love.

When John the apostle wrote Revelation 2:4, it was to address this issue. This passage reveals that the church at Ephesus had become sidetracked in its priorities. The complaint brought by the Lord against the church was not for what they were doing, but for what they were failing to do! They had elevated the activity of kingdom work to a place of honor that belonged only to the King! He was calling them to return to their first love.

Failure to allow Jesus the highest place of honor in our lives will always displease the Father. It will always leave us with a compelling sense of loss, of incompleteness, a void, even an agony of heart that yearns for 'something more' while struggling to identify the real issues of inner conflict.

I have discovered we will not reach for more until we are dissatisfied with our current level of relationship. For me, the 1970's challenged the placed where I was in spiritual experience. I began to immerse my life in prayer opportunities and the Word. Truth called for repentance. I was filled with a deep hunger and a firm resolve to break free from the grip of mediocrity that always chokes out the best things from God. I prayed earnestly that God would launch me out into the deep with Him -- that He would swing me across that huge gulf called the 'cares of life', a gulf that so easily separates us from essential steps to furthering our God-ordained destiny. The decade became a season of new beginnings; my heart was being prepared for greater adventures with God.

This is the marvel of it all: Such adventures will always stretch you past yourself, past your fears and inability, past your struggles and bondages, while developing a clearer focus and a stronger faith. you will not only experience more of God's love, but you will be amazed at the exciting ways He arranges for you to share His love and minister in His name. Our vision of life is always limited; His vision is always greater.

Accept the challenge. Be passionate for Jesus. Embrace your first love! Only here will you discover grace perfectly fitted for your future. He is a phenomenal God!"

by Barbara James