Your First Love

Mark 12: 29-31 “Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark titles this set of verses as “the Most Important Commandment”. And though there are many different translations and variations of God’s Word, all of the common translations use either “the greatest” “the primary” or “the most important” to describe this set of instructions – so this is something we need to pay attention to!

Our most important commandment, the primary duty of man, is to love God.

Sometimes, it really is that simple. And on some days, we need a simple directive to guide us through the spiraling thoughts and emotions that threaten to drown us. Some days, the to-do list is so long and as each day passes it’s still not getting done. Some days, for no good reason (thank you, hormones) our emotions get the better of us and we feel out of control of our own thoughts and feelings. I really, really hate these days. 

These kinds of days make me feel utterly helpless, horrible, to the point where I don’t even like myself anymore. If you have felt this way, I want to remind you that there is a point to this pain. The point of feeling our own humanity, of reeling with the truth that we are a filthy sinner? It points us to our desperate need for God. He is our lifeline, our anchor, our only hope. He has given us redemption beyond our wildest dreams and He meets us in our daily depravity with His kindness, His gentle love. 

So on those days, I invite you to turn to this simple directive – love God. If you can do nothing else today but love God, then you have done enough. This is our most important mission and task for life here on earth. 

How do we keep God as our first love in a world ridden with instant gratification, comparison, fear, bad news, and too many decisions to make?

We draw near to God.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to You”. 

When I have walked through really dry seasons, even reading the Word was difficult for me. It felt like the wellspring of life was empty, my soul was dry and my heart divided. It was a challenge just to focus on reading a few verses. 

If you have walked or are walking through a season like this, you are not alone and you will be okay. You can never be snatched from the loving hand of God!

Keep it simple. Pick a chapter, a Psalm, or a short book (like Ruth, Jonah, Jude, or James) and just reread it. Over and over, day after day, read the same words until it feels like the well is full again. Like there’s an entire ocean inside the bucket! 

Your mission and your purpose is to love God above all else, He is your first love. And He will be faithful to fill you again.