In Revelations

In Revelations, John was commanded to write to the church at Ephesus of their good qualities, as recorded in Rev. 2:2-3. However, as recorded in the 4^th verse, he was commanded to add, "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." Churches back then, as they are today, were made up of individuals. So, it was individuals of the church at Ephesus who had forsaken their first love. None who have experienced the saving grace of Christ should have reason to wonder to whom "first love" referred. Nor should there be any question of Christ having earned the right to be our first love, knowing the awesome price he paid for our salvation.

You’re not the first my heart has known;
I first loved self and self alone
Until my soul, with thirsting, cried
For water I could not provide;
And then the glitter of the world
Before my dazzled eyes unfurled,
But, though its treats I often tried,
They left my thirst unsatisfied.

You first loved me though vile was I,
A soul that well deserved to die;
You called my name; I shut my ears
And fled from You down through the years;
But You, with burning passion, wooed
And to the brink of Hell pursued
My stubborn soul relentlessly—
How wondrous is Your love for me!

You paid a price none can afford
On Calvary in blood outpoured
And shame before the eyes of men
To cancel out my debt of sin;
You quenched my thirst; You dried my tears;
You soothed away my doubts and fears;
You taught me how to speak to God;
You marked the path my feet should trod.

Give me a heart contrite and pure,
The strength temptations to endure,
A faith that stands all trials of time,
An awe of You, Your grace sublime,
Compassion like to that above,
A love for all the things you love;
And may my fickle soul not stray
From You, First Love, ever away.

For other poems by
J. G. Braddock Sr.
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By Inspiration Only