Good Morning Friends,
There was a time when faith felt like sunrise through a clean window, when Scripture opened like a beloved book, prayer felt natural and alive, and God’s nearness was almost tangible. You remember that season: early in your faith, during a retreat, in grief, or in a moment when self‑sufficiency collapsed and you reached for God with both hands. You tasted intimacy and maybe experience even now. But for some they are not tasting it now. This isn’t about backsliding or heresy. It’s about distance where there was once closeness because routine has replaced romance, and duty replaced delight. Like a marriage still intact but quietly cooling, the vows remain but the warmth fades. Scripture calls this losing your first love. And God has something tender and urgent to say about it. So, Have You Lost That Loving Feeling?
Scripture Commentary
Jeremiah 2:2 opens God’s covenant lawsuit against Israel not with accusation but with memory. He recalls the wilderness years, the “honeymoon” of the covenant, when Israel followed Him with trust and affection. Before naming their failures, God remembers their love.
Revelation 2:1–7 follows the first‑century letter pattern: Christ identifies Himself, commends the Ephesian church, rebukes them, calls them to repent, and promises reward. Ephesus was strong, doctrinally sound, and resilient. Yet Christ says they have abandoned their first love, they have not merely drifted but let it go.
Luke 15:20 Right at the emotional center of Jesus’ parable of The Prodigal. It’s the line where the father doesn’t wait for explanations, repentance speeches, or proof of change. He runs to him before the community would convict him for his sin. It is the Gospel in miniature. It reads like this: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
Message: Across seven centuries, these texts speak with one voice: God longs not only for obedience but affection. Israel and Ephesus share the same calling, to return to wholehearted, wilderness‑style love.The Ephesian church looked healthy: hardworking, discerning, steadfast. Yet Jesus said, I have this against you. They were doing everything right, but the fire had gone out. They served God actively while loving Him minimally. Duty remained; delight died.
A loveless church loses its light. And a loveless believer loses the warmth of communion. Scripture reading becomes mechanical. Prayer becomes quiet. Service becomes momentum. The ember glows, but the flame is gone. We are to keep the lamps burning.
And So, there is still hope, Christ ends the letter with a promise: the tree of life, the symbol of restored, face‑to‑face fellowship with God. What was lost in Eden is offered again to those who remember, repent, and return. The love story God began in the wilderness does not end in disappointment. It ends in paradise, with nothing between the Lover and the beloved. Losing your first love is not the end of your story. It is the turning point. The Father does not just wait on the road for the Prodigal son, the Father runs to the son to save him.
Pray with honesty, admitting the distance and the dimming of the flame. Pray for grace to remember our first love. Pray for courage to repent like the prodigal. Pray for faith to return to the Father through small, faithful steps that keep your heart near His presence. Trust that He will meet us there and even come running to greet us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 