Day 3: My First Love
If I’m honest, my first love, as well as your first love, is self. From the moment we’re born, we know how to scream= “I WANT____” Whether it’s food, sleep or to be held, all we gotta do is cry and someone will come running. It’s all about self-preservation, the world revolves around me.
Only, that’s not true. That’s a lie. The world does not revolve around me. I may act like it does. It may even seem like it some times, but it doesn’t.
Physically, the world revolves around the sun. Really, the world revolves around the Son. This should be our first love.
Jesus Christ. He came to earth, God in the flesh. Fully God. Fully Man. He did not sin. He came as a sacrifice, a ransom, the payment for my sins, your sins, and the sins of the entire world. Why did He need to come? Because as Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and then a few chapters later, in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You see, God gave us a gift of eternal life by sending His son Jesus to the earth. Jesus came knowing He would die, but did so willingly. A painful death, crucified on a cross at the hands of men. Scripture written hundreds of years before this, prophesied this would happen and it did. He died. But, He did not stay dead! This is what makes Him different. Had he simply died, He would have been no different than any other martyr for any kind of faith. Yet He rose again to life 3 days later, claiming victory over death. Death had no hold on Him. Having conquered death, He has offered life to anyone who will accept, believe, confess that they are a sinner in need of a Savior, not only asking for forgiveness for their sins, but repenting of them, turning from them for good. Now I, having received His forgiveness, His gift of life, just like Him, am free from the power of sin and death. Do I still sin? Yes, because I live in a fallen world, I often forget the grace God has shown me in forgiving me of my sins, I forget that He has given me life.
So by His grace, I will cling to the Cross which once was a sign of death, but for me is a sign of life because of the life given for me. For that reason, Jesus must be my first love. In comparison with Him, all other love should look like a mere shadow.
Jesus, help me to love you more.
