My First Love

My First Love

I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

Revelation 2:4

I smiled at the elderly Amish woman riding a scooter. I chuckled at the grinning toddler peeking out of the window. Then I saw a couple who sat silently as they ate, as if they were strangers to each other. That reminded me of this letter from an Amish man to his wife:

I think of times some twenty years ago when we were going through our courtship and first years of our marriage. We were in love then. We worked together, played together, laughed together, and mourned together.

It seems in recent years, you are giving most of your love to the children. . . . My heart is not made of stone. Really, it feels like it is getting more tender as the years go by. Surely the coolness that has come between us is not the way you like it. In many ways, you do your duty well. You work hard to provide a home for me and the children, and you are very unselfish in many ways. You have many flowers and they all seem to be very well cared for, except one. It is called a bleeding heart of . . .

—Your Loving Husband, John

My heart breaks when I read that letter. First, because of all the times I’ve focused more on my children than I have on my husband. But mostly because it makes me think of God. When I first gave my heart to Him, I couldn’t believe how blessed I was. My sins were gone, and love overflowed. But over time, those emotions faded, like those described in Jeremiah 2:2: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.’”

God has given His whole heart to us. Of course He is pleased when we serve Him, but more than anything else, He wants us to look to Him, connect with Him, open our hearts to His.

How can you do that today? Remember the One who is your First Love, and open your heart.

Dear heavenly Father, how amazing that the Creator of the universe loves me. I am overwhelmed with love for You.