This pastor's blog post draws directly from Wagoner First's sermon “Follow-Up Materials - Initial Analysis” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
Rekindling Your First Love: Living in the Freedom of Relationship with Jesus
Have you ever noticed how relationships can grow stale over time? Maybe you remember the excitement of your wedding day, or the thrill of a new friendship. That initial energy often fades, replaced by routine and obligation. Our relationship with Jesus can follow the same pattern – what began as passionate devotion can slowly transform into religious duty. But it doesn't have to stay that way.
When Rules Replace Relationship
In Galatians 5:16-18, Paul writes: "I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not able to do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
When we embrace our relationship with Jesus, it breaks the power of the flesh and the law. If we're in a covenant relationship with God, He becomes our guide on life's journey, and there's no need for the law. Relationship takes precedence. Our walk with Jesus is about relationship, not religion.
My motives reveal my approach to God. If I'm living under love rather than law, my motivations look completely different. As 2 Corinthians 3:6 reminds us, "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
Ask yourself: Why do I do what I do in my faith walk? Is reading the Bible a duty or a delight? The law says "I have to." Love says "I get to." It's a privilege, an honor to read His Word.
Love Must Be Our Motivation
God doesn't want soldiers who shudder when the commander speaks. If you find yourself doing things for God out of duty or obligation, there's a heart disconnect. While serving God is our duty, we do it because we love Him.
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul writes: "Each of you should give what you've decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver." True hilarious generosity flows from love, not obligation.
Think about your marriage or close relationships. Are you faithful because you have to be or because you want to share your love? How successful would our marriages be if we only stopped to see each other one day a week? Yet many of us approach our relationship with Jesus this way.
1 John 2:15 warns us: "Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. The love of the world squeezes out the love of the Father." The busyness of life can press out mercy, grace, and love – all those attributes the Spirit puts in us.
Behavior Reflects Commitment
My behavior reflects my commitment to Jesus. I don't avoid sin because it's against the law; I avoid it because of my love and commitment to Jesus. We should be faithful, not unfaithful, to our Lord and Savior.
Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of service." A living sacrifice is reasonable worship to God.
Just as I don't do nice things for my wife to win her love, my behavior and the things I do for God stem from my love and commitment to Him. I give not because I have to, but because I want to.
Proximity Defines His Influence
The closer I am to Jesus, the more His values influence my life. You can tell how close someone is to Jesus by how much of His attributes are seen in them. Our relationship is crucial, and the enemy works tirelessly to put everything between us and God.
James 4:7-8 teaches us: "Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. Come near to God and He'll come near to you." That submission part is important – it comes first!
When we're weary, Jesus promises rest: "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy ladened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We find our rest in Jesus. When I'm having a bad day and go to the Lord in prayer, His peace settles on me. The more I pray, the better I feel as He ministers to me.
How to Fall in Love with Jesus Again
So how do we rekindle the flame? The same way you'd heal a broken marriage:
Stop pretending everything's fine when it's not. We have to stop going through the motions of relationship. Getting saved is a status; building a relationship is what comes next.
Release past hurts, wounds, and disappointments. You'll never move forward until you choose to let go of the past. Sometimes we pray and the loved one still dies. Sometimes the situation gets worse. Sometimes we don't see the answer. That doesn't mean God isn't moving.
Embrace God's undeniable, unconditional, relentless love. No sin is too great for God to forgive. He still loves you and wants a relationship with you.
Return to your first love. Revelation 2:4 says, "I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen; repent and do the things you did at first." Remember how overwhelmed you were by His mercy and grace when you first believed?
Invest heavily in the relationship. Galatians 6:7-9 reminds us, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please the flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good."
Retreat to reignite with God. Pull away from everything else and spend time with just Him. Take your Bible, worship music, and a notebook, and go pray. God speaks when we give our ear to hear.
Jesus promised, "When you seek me, you'll find me." You can't quit seeking. We need times of intimacy with God in the middle of our chaotic lives. Sometimes it's as simple as carving out daily time for relationship with Him.
What stands between you and God today? Whatever it is, He's waiting with open arms for you to return to your first love.
Meta Description: Discover how to rekindle your relationship with Jesus and move from religious obligation to loving devotion. Learn practical steps to return to your first love.
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