Return to Your First Love

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, November 25, 2008

"Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first." —Revelation 2:5

Do you remember when you first fell in love with your spouse? Remember how you wanted to make such a great impression?

You would wear your best clothes, put your best foot forward, and use your best manners. Wherever you went, people could see you holding hands and looking into one another's eyes. Then there were those little gifts you would give to each other throughout the week, just to let each other know how much you loved one another.

What brought you and your spouse together was your desire for companionship, for intimacy, for honesty. But when a husband and wife begin to take each other for granted, that marriage becomes endangered.

A marriage is strong because you make it that way. Romance is kept alive by a conscious effort on your part. Romance is not something that comes and goes. It is something that you keep alive as you take part in the necessary activities to keep your marriage strong and vibrant.

A Christian's relationship with God is similar. This romance that we have with the Lord is more than mere emotion. Our relationship with God involves continually doing the things that will keep us strong spiritually.

Are you taking the Lord for granted today? If so, take the necessary steps to return to your first love—your love for Jesus Christ.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Used with Permission