loving the Lord with our first love = giving Him the first place in all things

Continuing the thought from the previous post(“why this waste”), what does it mean to love the Lord? In Mark 12:30 it says “you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength”. Also, in Matt. 26 – where Mary poured out her love offering upon the Lord Jesus – the Lord seemed to be saying “Yes, you have the poor, and you will always have them: now you have to take care of Me! I am here – pay attention to Me!”

The Lord Jesus, God incarnated, is the most lovely and wonderful Person: He is so attractive in expressing the divine attributes through His human virtues. While still on the earth, people were being attracted to the Lord, and they loved Him! Mary in particular did the best she could: she did not care for her future, she didn’t reserve/keep anything back – she wasted everything on the Lord! This is the kind of love the Lord is seeking in His people – and this kind of love interrupted Him on the day of His resurrection: He appeared to Mary, right before He ascended to the Father!

To love Him with the first love(Rev. 2:4) means actually to give Him the preeminence, the first place in all things. Christ is already the Head of the Body(the church), He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead – that He may have the first place in all things(Col. 1:18). But what about our personal universe? Christ wants to have the first place in our decisions, in our relationship with our spouse, our relationship with our workmates / classmates / siblings / parents. He wants to have the preeminence in our buying and selling things/properties, in our managing of our finances, in our business affairs. Christ has the first place in God’s economy, in the universe – but what about Christ having the first place in our personal universe?

When we see Him – when God reveals His Son to us/in us(which thing He is pleased to do – Gal. 1:15), we spontaneously give Him the first place in our heart. Then day by day, in our fellowship with Him, in our personal contact with the Lord, we enthrone Him over all the areas of our life. As we love Him more and open to Him to come in, He will gradually replace anything else that has the first place in us, and He becomes the Most Precious One, even our Lord Jesus!

Lord, have the first place in our life! In all the small things and the big things, Lord, have the preeminence! In all we have, we do, we say, in our relationships, in everything related to us – have the first place, dear Lord Jesus! Recover our first love for You!