Revelation 1:17-2:7 BibleGateway.com
I see it in the tired faces of my students, struggling to finish the semester. I see it in the overworked faces of pastors, trying to survive the extra demands of Advent. I see it in the resigned faces of parishioners, who keep coming to worship — week after week — even when they wonder why. And sometimes I see it in my own face, when I pause long enough before the mirror to examine my soul.
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
Remember first love? The talking all night, the laughing and crying together, the belief that nothing else matters — and that everything, simultaneously, does — because that which matters most has been taken care of? Somebody knows us completely, and loves us unconditionally.We cannot help but revel in such love.
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
I guess we all have to grow up, sometime—don’t we? How long can first love last? Isn’t it a mark of maturity to realize that those long, beautiful nights can’t last forever? If we are keeping up with our commitments, what more can be expected?
“More,” insists the One who places his right hand on us, who reassuringly touches our faces. “I want more than good works, more than high energy, more than faultless allegiance. I want relationship. I want fellowship. I want you to love me, again.”
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
But Christ, our Lover, waits for us. Will this be the day we repent, and return?
Prayer: Gracious God, restore in us the first love we had for Christ, that our perfect abiding in him might displace even our very best efforts. Guide us into that repentance which brings life. Bless us and keep us, that all our good works might be born of love, and love alone.
Amen
Cynthia Rigby
TheW.C. Brown Professor of Theology
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.
I see it in the tired faces of my students, struggling to finish the semester. I see it in the overworked faces of pastors, trying to survive the extra demands of Advent. I see it in the resigned faces of parishioners, who keep coming to worship — week after week — even when they wonder why. And sometimes I see it in my own face, when I pause long enough before the mirror to examine my soul.
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
Remember first love? The talking all night, the laughing and crying together, the belief that nothing else matters — and that everything, simultaneously, does — because that which matters most has been taken care of? Somebody knows us completely, and loves us unconditionally.We cannot help but revel in such love.
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
I guess we all have to grow up, sometime—don’t we? How long can first love last? Isn’t it a mark of maturity to realize that those long, beautiful nights can’t last forever? If we are keeping up with our commitments, what more can be expected?
“More,” insists the One who places his right hand on us, who reassuringly touches our faces. “I want more than good works, more than high energy, more than faultless allegiance. I want relationship. I want fellowship. I want you to love me, again.”
We have abandoned that first love we had for Christ.
But Christ, our Lover, waits for us. Will this be the day we repent, and return?
Prayer: Gracious God, restore in us the first love we had for Christ, that our perfect abiding in him might displace even our very best efforts. Guide us into that repentance which brings life. Bless us and keep us, that all our good works might be born of love, and love alone.
Amen
Cynthia Rigby
TheW.C. Brown Professor of Theology
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.
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For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
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