in love again
"I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved Me as a bride, following Me in the desert, in a land unsown." —Jeremiah 2:2
Remember when you first fell in love with Jesus? Remember what a joy it was to pray? How you loved to be with God and with His people! How you would praise Him in English and other languages! Remember when...
However, many have lost their first love (Rv 2:4). They still believe; they still pray and serve the Lord. But it's not the way it was. "Sluggish indeed is this people's heart" (Mt 13:15). The Spirit is quenched (1 Thes 5:19). The flame is no longer burning bright.
Repent! Return! Revive! Renew! "The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, His mercies are not spent; they are renewed each morning, so great is His faithfulness" (Lam 3:22-23). There's so much more, an eternity of "more" with Jesus.
The Lord is saying to you: "I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart...She shall respond there as in the days of her youth"x (Hos 2:16, 17). Give in, fall into His arms, let Him love you as of old. "Greater will be the future glory...than the former" (Hg 2:9). He calls: "Arise, My beloved, My beautiful one, and come!" (Sg 2:10)
Will you love Him again? Will you feel the touch of His nail-scarred hands? "There is no greater love than this" (Jn 15:13). Live in His love (Jn 15:10). Let Love live in you.
Prayer: "Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All" (see Jn 20:28).
Promise: "To you has been given a knowledge of the mysteries of the reign of God, but it has not been given to the others." —Mt 13:11
Praise: When Maria loses that first Love, she hears her Lord tell her to "go back to the basics" and she worships Him anew in Spirit and truth.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 12, 2005
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