Volume 11: Don’t Outgrow Your First Love

Don’t Outgrow Your First Love

It is one thing to know about God. It is another thing to walk with God.

I once had the privilege of spending time with Rudy and Dorothy, a beautiful, fun, loving, and hospitable couple who have been faithfully married for more than fifty years. Their love story wasn’t merely inspiring because they stood before an altar five decades ago—it captured my heart because they have continued choosing one another every single day since then.

More than 18,000 days ago, they made a covenant before God, but what moved me most was realizing they have spent more than 18,000 mornings waking up and deciding to love, serve, forgive, encourage, and sacrifice for one another all over again.

As I listened to them, one thought kept stirring in my heart: That is what I want my relationship with my Heavenly Father to look like. Not a love that was passionate only at the beginning, but one that grows deeper through daily fellowship. Not a relationship sustained by memory, but by continual devotion. Every day, I want to choose the Father all over again.

Awake in the Middle of the Night Reflecting on That Kind of Love

Think back to when you first fell in love. You looked forward to every conversation. You intentionally made time for one another, even when life was busy. You learned what brought them joy. You protected the relationship because it mattered more than your personal agendas. Love was not sustained by obligation—it was fueled by affection.

Jesus did not die merely to make us biblically informed. He died to reconcile us to the Father so we could know Him personally.

Many believers can quote Scripture as easily as they can spell their own name. They can explain doctrine, identify false teachers, and defend theological positions. Yet somewhere along the journey, they stopped simply enjoying the presence of God.

Remember Your First Love

The church at Ephesus understood truth. Jesus commended them for their labor, perseverance, discernment, and refusal to tolerate false apostles. Their doctrine was sound. Their convictions were biblical.

But then came these heartbreaking words: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” (Revelation 2:4)

Notice that Jesus did not say they had lost their first love. He said they had left it.

They were still busy serving Christ while neglecting intimacy with Christ.

An Unforgettable Portrait

As I looked through Rudy and Dorothy’s 50th anniversary pictures, it dawned on me just how beautiful true love really is. Not simply because of the smiles captured in the photographs, but because of what those pictures represent. Fifty years of marriage is not built in a moment—it is built through thousands of daily decisions to love one another.

That is exactly what our relationship with God should resemble.

Loving God means desiring His presence more than His provision.

It means talking with Him, not merely talking about Him. It means opening the Scriptures to hear His voice rather than simply gathering information or winning another theological debate. It means praying, not because another crisis has forced you to your knees, but because you genuinely enjoy communion with your Heavenly Father. And it means obeying Him—not out of obligation, but because love delights to please the One it loves.

This is why God is called our first love. Until His love transforms your own heart, you will never adequately love your spouse, your children, your friends, your neighbors, or even your enemies the way He commands.

That’s the big picture we all must see: “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) His love becomes the wellspring from which every other relationship flows.

True Love Feels New Everyday

Genuine love is not sustained by yesterday’s affection but renewed through daily devotion.

The greatest danger to a believer is not always false doctrine. Sometimes it is becoming so familiar with God that you slowly stop pursuing Him. You continue serving, teaching, singing, preaching, leading, and working for Him while quietly neglecting the joy of simply being with Him.

Never let your service for God replace your fellowship with God.

Never allow your knowledge of God to replace your love for God. Never become so busy doing the work of the Lord that you neglect spending time with the Father. This is what the Remnant7 prayer times aim to encourage—intimacy with the Father.

According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus lovingly reminded Martha that activity is never a substitute for intimacy. While Martha was “careful and troubled about many things,” Mary sat at His feet, listening to His word. Jesus declared, “Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

Serving God is important, but spending time with God is indispensable. I wrote these words, but I’m grateful for Rudy and Dorothy, because they built a union that allows God to be glorified. Before we can effectively minister for Christ, we must first learn to sit quietly with Him.

Carve out time to fall in love with your Father again today—and then do it again tomorrow—and allow this pattern to renew and repeat throughout eternity.