I remember when I first laid eyes on the woman who would become my wife. I had been out of the Marines for less than a year. I was working for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency as an investigator. I was waiting for the security director of the bank when I saw her. I was hooked! This was in 1972, and with no premarital counseling, we were married September 9.
While dating, I wanted to be with her every moment I could. We went to lunch and dinner during the week. Her weekends were booked with other guys she dated, but I eventually won her over; we were officially a couple. After three months I proposed, and it seemed our wedding date would never come. After we returned from our honeymoon, we were transferred from Indiana to Nebraska to start our new life together.
Unfortunately for our marriage, the ghosts of Vietnam took center stage in our lives. During the day I worked hard, functioning in my career. Personally, I was destroying the relationship of the one person who truly loved me. For two years our marriage was heading for divorce until we met some couples who really cared. They were the hands and hearts God used to change our lives forever. We learned what God intends for every marriage to have — real love, intimacy, trust, and, most of all, faith in Christ.
Our lives changed dramatically. Our marriage was restored over the next two years, and on our sixth anniversary, we renewed our marriage vows based on putting Jesus Christ in the center of our relationship. Once again, we wanted to be with each other and do everything together, and we grew to be best friends. But that was only because of putting Jesus Christ first in everything.
In the Book of Revelations, Jesus had a few words for His church in Ephesus. First of all, he commended the church for a few things it had gotten right. It hated evil and false apostles. But then Jesus rebuked it. Why?
“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:4-5)
I made the word “left” bold for a reason. Early in my Christian walk, I would read this passage of Scripture and in my mind it said “lost your first love.” As if I had misplaced it somewhere by accident. But that’s not what it says. It says “you have left your first love” — walked away from it, discarded it, tossed it aside.
That’s what I had done in my marriage. I forgot what it was I saw in my wife that drew me to her. I wasn’t spending time with her like I had when we dated. My career became more important than her. The love began to fade; the flame was going out. But the good news — no, the great news — is that it was not hopeless! When we put Christ in the center of our marriage, we had hope. The recipe was simple: “Remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first.” We went back to the beginning and remembered why we had fallen in love in the first place.
America has lost its first love for God. We’ve relegated Jesus to an hour on Sunday (maybe), and then during the rest of the week we live aimless, unfulfilled lives, wondering what’s missing. We are like the prodigal son who instead of dining at the Father’s table settled for the world’s pig food. The answer is the same: America, wake up and return to your first love! We need to “come to our senses” like the prodigal son.
Something to pray about!
Semper Fidelis
