Keeping Love Alive

RISE AND SHINE FOR JESUS! \O/
By Pam Iannello (my mother)


Writing is something I love to do. I also love to learn how to perfect my skills on the computer, especially artistically. I love going for long walks with my husband early in the morning. I love meeting the needs of my children. I love cleaning my house and organizing closets and drawers. I love yard work. I love chatting with little kids and tapping into their perspective on various things. I love watching television shows pertaining to archaeological digs. I love searching out family history and finding old photos that introduce me to past relatives and offer clues to the kind of life they lived. I love teaching. I love listening to people’s problems and helping them to solve them Biblically. Come to think of it, there are lots of things that I love! In fact, it is hard for me to think about NOT loving anything I just listed, yet it is possible that my love for these and many other things could diminish or die out altogether. Why does love - even the most fervent and committed love - sometimes grow cold over time? What are some mementos or heirlooms you are especially attached to? What is something you remember loving dearly as a child that you eventually outgrew? What are the loves of your life?

Rev. 2:4 (KJV)
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

With what in the Ephesian church was Christ unsatisfied? Their love! They simply did not retain a strong and ardent affection for God and sacred things. Does that sound like something that has happened to you too? Have you outgrown your love for God or is this the closest you’ve ever been to Him? Are you remaining loyal to Christ as time goes on or have other loves crowded out or possibly exterminated your love for God altogether? What would the Lord say is most important to you? Besides knowing all the right answers and doing all the right activities, what is the true condition of your spiritual vitality?

Ladies, no matter what or who it is you love, if you don’t love God first and foremost then all your other loves are in danger of growing cold and lifeless. Our FIRST love must be God if all other right loves would flourish. Does it matter to you if your love for your husband drops off? Your love for your family? What about your love for your home? How about your love for the local church and doctrinally sound Bible preaching – does it matter if your devotion to all this and more expires? You might think that your love will never change but you will have no control over the consequences that occur from leaving God out of your life! It is our love for God that accelerates our interest in the wellbeing of others. When you start taking God for granted, everything else will become a hollow practice. Yes, you can endeavor to fill your life with other loves but sooner or later you will come to realize they just don’t satisfy like Jesus can!

By way of this verse God puts a finger on our hearts and forces us to deal with the condition of our love for Him. That should prove to us that our heavenly Father doesn’t take lifeless Christianity lightly! God deals with our infidelity openly and honestly just as you would if your marriage were in trouble. So then, how can we know if our hearts are in danger? In such cases prayer time is not as easy and pleasant as it used to be as when our love for God is neglected. In addition, reading the Word is nothing more than a robotic experience – when and if it happens at all. Ladies, even though there may be some good in us God still points out what displeases Him and we should be grateful that He cares so much about our hearts and repent of our indifference! Nothing but our fervent love satisfies the Bridegroom – are you living up to your position as Christ’s bride? As much as I love the things I shared with you, they must never be permitted to strangle my FIRST love. Is God still first in your life? If not, get ready to say farewell to all your other loves, for they will soon pass away.

Alas, oh, love is dead! How could it perish thus?
No one has cared for it: It simply died of frost.

God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2

Copyright 2006 Pamela A. Iannello

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