First Love

First Love:

In the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, the author (John) is given a supernatural glimpse into things “from Jesus Christ” (1:1), as “the testimony of Jesus Christ” (1:2).

In Genesis 12:3 we read about God’s eternal covenant blessing upon Abram, “...through you all the people of the world will be blessed.” This blessing from God anticipated humanity’s exclusive Redeemer King who would be a direct descendant of Abram/Abraham.

John connects the book of Revelation with that Old Testament promise of blessing through Abraham by writing in 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

How exactly does John connect God’s covenant blessing to Abraham to God’s blessing to those who read “aloud” and who “hear it and take to heart what is written?”

John does so in 1:5 by revealing the source of all blessings: “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. The One loving us and releasing us from our sins through His blood…”

John notes that this letter is an unveiling, i.e. revealing, of the heart and mind of Christ. The letter was not only intended for the churches of John’s day (the seven churches of Asia in 1:4), but all churches everywhere throughout time that fulfill Christ’s commission: “He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father” (1:6).

Abraham’s grandson was Jacob, whom God later renamed Israel. Israel’s twelve sons became the nation of Israel. After the exodus the Israelites were selected by God to “be a kingdom of priests/mediators and a holy/set-apart nation” (Ex 19:6). That privileged designation was neither something to be hoarded by the nation of Israel, nor was it intended by God to be exclusionary. Israel was divinely appointed to serve all the nations of earth by revealing God’s presence, power, and love.

The Old Testament chronicles the repeated epic fails by the nation of Israel. Despite the miracles God displayed time-and-time again, Israel rejected God and adopted the deplorable practices of the pagan nations around them, which included sacrificing their children to idols.

For their repeated refusal to repent (i.e. to literally “turn” from something, not merely feel sorry about it), God used foreign nations to destroy the temple, depose their kings, and commandeer their land.

Then Jesus, the Redeemer King, came and shed His blood for humanity. He rose from the tomb on the third day and ascended to heaven. He gave John this supernatural vision and instructed John to write it down as a blessing to all who read it aloud and to those who hear it and take it to heart.

God is giving us the opportunity to be a kingdom of priests/mediators just as He gave the nation of Israel that opportunity. To their detriment, Israel chose to hoard God’s grace and exclude the rest of the world.

Many Christians today do the same thing. We hoard God’s grace and the blessing of redemption and eternal life through Jesus Christ. We say nothing to anyone. We tell people, “My relationship with God is a private thing.” We adopt the practices of the lost people around us and worship the same idols they worship: finances, power, fame, prestige, security, vanity, materialism.

In Revelation 2:3-4 Jesus said to one of the churches, “You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.”

Do you remember the moment God blessed you with the transcendent gift of faith? That precise moment in time when God snatched you from the clutches of separation and torment for all eternity and brought you into His loving arms? Do you remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-”?

To abandon your first love is to reject the LORDship of Christ in your life. Israel did this and they lost their King (God), the temple (God’s dwelling place), and their land (God’s provision for them). The church Jesus rebuked was warned, “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

The great fallacy of Western Christianity is that our relationship with Christ is “a private thing.” There is no relationship with Christ outside of the church. There is no relationship with the church if we are not serving as “kingdom of priests” to herald the gospel of Christ to the world.

In Matthew 7:17-19 Jesus said, “17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

There is no third category of tree. You are either producing “good fruit” for the kingdom of God or you are producing “bad fruit.” Jesus cursed the fig tree for not producing any fruit at all.

So what about you? Are you telling others about Christ? Are you doing what Jesus commanded in saying, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance,” or are you convinced that your relationship with God is “a private thing?”

Jesus made it very clear that it is NOT a private thing, but rather a privileged distinction that, if hoarded or ignored, will readily and lovingly be revealed as counterfeit.

If Jesus truly is your FIRST LOVE, then good fruit is the unconscious and supernatural expression of that priority.

Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Are you spreading those seeds, gathering for Christ, and producing “good fruit?” Or have you forgotten your first love?

Blessings,

-Kevin