First Love

Do you remember your very first love?  You know...the one that made you fuzzy on the inside.  I remember mine well.  I was experienced at love when I fell for this beauty.  I was in the fourth grade and she was in the third.  We were so in love that we decided to spray paint our names on the street in front of my house.  Yeah...I know...it was true!  We were steady for 4 years.  Yes, 4 years!  But...by the eighth grade she had lost interest in me.  I knew something was up because we weren't sitting at the same lunch table anymore.  I remember the day well and I knew it was coming when I saw her beady eyed little friend approaching my table with a smirk on her face. Before I knew it this little monster was standing in front of me twirling her hair and smacking her gum. As she opened her venomous little mouth I braced myself for the pain. "She wants to break up with you today because you're to chubby."  Too chubby?  I mean yeah I had gained a little weight but that just crossed the line! She was throwing away 4 years of pure bliss over a couple of pounds? She did and in the blink of an eye it was over.

Needless to say my heart was broken and my first love was gone. Oh how my little chubby heart wept.  I'm over it now but it took awhile.

Why do we choose to walk away from our first love? I guess in my case "it" walked away from me. 

But when it comes to our spiritual journey listen to what Christ says;

"I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary. But I have this one charge to make against you: that you have abandoned the love that you had at first, you have deserted Me, your first love. Revelation 2:3-4 (AMP)

You see, I work real hard at trying to do the right things.  I mean, I do good stuff for God so what am I missing? Doing good stuff FOR God is completely different than being WITH God.  I find myself walking closely to what appeals to my nature and not closely enough to what appeals to His nature and without realizing it I have quietly and rebelliously drifted away from my first love.  

As a follower of Christ do whatever it takes to return to your first love.  When you do you will be glad you did.

How clean are the feet of those who betray us?

I had a thought this morning.  Yes, I know, some of you are shocked, but I think it is a legitimate thought.  Most of us know the story of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples right before going to the cross.  And most of us know that Peter had the biggest issue with it.  Peter's argument, I believe was two-fold.  #1:  Why would the most powerful man in the room stoop down and wash my feet? and #2:  I will have to model this behavior and it doesn't suit me.  I mean after all Jesus was the teacher, rabbi and master and Peter didn't like where this was going.

But my thoughts this morning turned to Judas, the one who ultimately betrayed Jesus.  Jesus knew him well.  He knew his motives and what he would do in just a few moments.  He (Judas) would get up from the table and set out to betray the One he had just spent three years with.

And Jesus washed his feet anyway.

John 13:12 says, and when He had finished washing THEIR feet, He put on His garment and returned to His place.  It doesn't say that He washed the feet of only the ones who were true to Him.  He washed the feet of ALL of His disciples including Judas.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Jesus washed the feet of the one who would betray Him.  Jesus knew what Judas was about to do and He served him anyway.

What a lesson in humility for me this morning.  In my heart, I know that I am able to serve and love those who will serve and love me back.  However, I can't seem to wrap my mind around serving and loving those who won't return the favor, much less the people in my life who betray me.  If someone betrays me once then shame on them but if someone betrays me twice then shame on me, right?

I have a long way to go in what unconditional love must look like in my life.  I mean, Jesus must have known that I too would betray Him, but made the decision to serve me anyway.

The ultimate form of service, on a cross, laying His own life down to ransom mine. How many times have I looked into the face of Jesus and said, "No thanks" as His unconditional love said, "That's ok Ty. One day you will understand."

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." John 13:7