Single Matters Magazine with Jill Monaco Ministries Christian singles discuss the matters of life, relationships, singleness and faith
One night my friend was at my house pretty late and was about to head home. She went to the door to grab her purse, keys, and shoes … and her keys were no where to be found! She looked in her purse a billion times, peeked in her car and around it, retraced her steps throughout my home. We looked in couch cushions and under tables, and concluded that they were GONE!
Finally she looked at me and said “Uh-oh, I think I know where they are … in the trash!” And I said, “What! How?” Apparently, she had brought her dinner over and accidentally threw her keys away inside the bag of food when she was done.
Now, getting her keys out of the trash was a bit of a problem because I had my birthday party that night and we had gone through quite a few trash containers. After looking through a few bags in the rain, pulling out the nacho cheese filled plates, and half-drunk drinks (why don’t people dump them in the sink first!) we found them! Right where she left them, in the trash!
Now, this story has a point …
Revelation 2:4-5 says,
Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
OUCH! (a good kind)
God is addressing the church in Ephesus in this letter. This verse isn’t saying that they no longer had any love for Christ at all. But it is saying that the quality of their love for Him had weakened over time. Forsaken: left behind, departed from, neglected. Somewhere along the way, they had lost it.
Have YOU lost it?
Somewhere along the way, did your passion for Jesus slip away? Has your flame dulled? Have you neglected to spend precious time with Him? Have you gone through the motions but missed the heart connection?
The good thing about losing something is that (in most cases) it is in the same place you left it.
Jesus says in this verse, “Remember the height from which you’ve fallen!” What made you distance yourself from the Lord? Was it a past hurt? A broken relationship? Things were so good you didn’t need Him? Busy-ness of life swept in, you were hurt by a church, you got lazy — or maybe something else you can add to the list?
Figure out what that place was. Where did you leave those keys? Go back and find it! Dig through that trash and remember your First Love.
God hasn’t moved. He’s not the one who is lost. He’s right there by you. He’s waiting for you to realize you’ve been neglecting Him.
Just like those keys that didn’t move but had trash piled and piled on top of them … you may have placed a few (or a lot) of things above God and feel far from Him. Yet, He’s right there, arms open wide waiting for you to reach out for Him, waiting for you to let Him in again. Return to your First Love!
He says in His Word, “When you seek Me with all your heart, you will find me.”
Just like we searched high and wide for her keys, maybe it’s time to do everything you can to seek God. Get on your knees in repentance, start fresh and new, make a choice to make Him the center of your life and He will make the change in you. If you seek Him …
He’s given you the promise that you’ll find Him.
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