Our affections can tell us a lot if we
pay attention to them. Whoever, or
whatever, has our heart is the person, or the thing, that determines most of
our behavior. Because you can’t behave
your way into love, you can only love your way into behavior. Jesus, first and foremost, does not want your
activity, he wants your affection. He
knows that if he has your affection, everything else will fall into place. It is how we are wired. The person, or the thing, you are most deeply
in love with, and passionate about, will determine how you go about your days
and how you live your life.
So, let me ask you, where is the romance in your life these days? Who, or what, possesses your deepest
affections? Who, or what, is first; not
in the sense of chronology, but priority?
What do you spend most of your energy thinking and dreaming about? Who is the one you desire to spend most of
your time with? Who, or what, gives you
the most life and energy? If you pay
careful attention to these questions, it can tell you a lot about your life, as
well as your loves. You see, the thing
about your affections is that they will always land somewhere. They are always seeking an object, whether
you know it or not. Therefore, you need
to be careful that their landing spot is worthy of them.
Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “You have abandoned your first love.
(Rev. 2:4) You have allowed other people and other things to distract you and
take your heart away from your first love—me. Others have become more important to you. And when you get your affections out of
order, chaos ensues. Come back to
me. Let your hearts be seized once again
by the power of my Great Affection. Because
everyone and everything else is a poor substitute for the love you were made
for.”
Most of us did not set out to abandon
our first love, it was a slow, steady drift. We got so distracted and consumed with the people
and the things around us that before we knew it the tides had carried us miles
and miles down the beach. Other people
and other things had slowly become more important than the One who made us to
live in his passionate and intimate love.
Therefore, we must learn to pay attention to our loves, particularly to
our First Love. We must make time and
space for the great affection of Jesus to capture and consume us again and
again. We must be thoughtful and
intentional about cultivating our romance with Jesus, the Lover of our Souls. Otherwise, we might end up just like the
church at Ephesus, fueled by a dull sense of duty and obligation, rather than
ignited and consumed with the passionate love of Jesus.
