What Does It Mean to Love Jesus with Our First and Best Love?

As Christians, we can sincerely say that we love our Savior Jesus Christ, the One who gave His life for us. Without question, we acknowledge that He is worthy of our love.

But have we ever asked ourselves whether we love Him the way He desires to be loved? Today we’ll read verses from Revelation 2 and accompanying notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to see how the Lord Jesus wants us to love Him.

The Lord’s speaking to the church in Ephesus

In Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord’s speaking to seven churches in Asia shows us what pleases Him and what troubles Him regarding His people. The first church He addressed in this section was the church in Ephesus. 

Revelation 2:1–3 says: 

“To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you cannot bear evil men; and you have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false; And you have endurance and have borne all things because of My name and have not grown weary.”

The Lord began by acknowledging the many good points of the church in Ephesus, such as their works, their endurance, and much more. It seems their condition before the Lord was quite positive. But then in verses 4 and 5, He says:

“But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent.”

Their labor and faithfulness couldn’t offset the one thing the Lord had against them: they had left their first love.

What is our “first love”?

The Lord specifically said the church in Ephesus had left its first love. What does the phrase first love mean?

Let’s read note 1 on first in the New Testament Recovery Version to find out:

“The Greek word for first is the same as that translated best in Luke 15:22. Our first love toward the Lord must be our best love for Him.”

Luke 15:22 says:

“But the father said to his slaves, Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.”

Here, the father didn’t call for just any robe, but the best robe he had, the finest robe.

In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, the word used for best in Luke 15:22 is the same word used for first in Revelation 2:4. This shows us that the first love the Lord desired from the church in Ephesus was their best love.

But was the Lord’s speaking applicable only to the believers in Ephesus then? No! Since it’s included in the Word of God, it applies to all believers and is a warning to us today. The Lord longs for us to love Him with our first, best love. This means that we give Him the first place in our heart and our life, loving Him above all else.

The importance of maintaining our first love for the Lord

The defining characteristic of our relationship with the Lord Jesus is love. And this love is like that between a bridegroom and his beloved bride. In fact, the book of Revelation reveals that the Lord Jesus is our Bridegroom who will one day be married to His bride, composed of His believers. And the end of Revelation shows us that for all eternity, Christ will be the Husband to His people. Together, they’ll be a loving couple living in complete oneness with each other.

Since this is the ultimate conclusion of the whole Bible, no wonder the Lord Jesus wants us to love Him with our first love today. He loves us purely, with a deep, unchanging love. But what about us? Has our love for Him diminished? Is our love for Him what’s left over after loving the world, our career, or other things? 

Let’s read Revelation 2:4–5 again:

“But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent.”

At one time, the church in Ephesus had loved the Lord as their first love, but they left that love. This is the one thing that the Lord Jesus had against them, and what they needed to repent of.

Now let’s read the the second half of note 2 on Revelation 2:4 in the New Testament Recovery Version:

“Now this second epistle to the Ephesians reveals that the degradation of the church begins with our leaving the first love toward the Lord. Nothing but love can keep us in a proper relationship with the Lord. The church in Ephesus had good works, labored for the Lord, endured suffering, and tried the false apostles (vv. 2-3), but she left her first love toward the Lord. The leaving of the first love is the source of all the degradation in the succeeding stages of the church.”

This note strongly points out that “nothing but love can keep us in a proper relationship with the Lord.”

Although the church in Ephesus had good works, labored for the Lord, endured suffering, and tried the false apostles, the Lord wasn’t satisfied with these things because she left her first love. 

No matter how much scriptural knowledge we obtain or how many good works and activities we carry out, only loving Christ with our first love can keep us in a proper relationship with Him. Loving the Lord with our first, best love should be the top priority of our Christian life. Only this love can keep us in a proper relationship with the Lord. 

Today, it’s possible for us believers to think that serving the Lord is the primary thing He wants from us. We can become occupied with serving Him, yet neglect our personal fellowship with Him. This isn’t what He wants. He yearns for us to love Him with our whole heart, more than anything else. While the Lord certainly wants us to serve Him, anything we do for Him should be the issue of our love for Him.

And it’s not only good works we do for the Lord that can take His place in our heart. Anything can distract us and diminish our love for the Lord, including our job, education, or friends. These things can become more important to us than the Lord and cause us to leave the Lord as our first, best love. The Lord wants to have the first place in every facet of our lives.

Repenting for leaving our first love

We all have to ask ourselves about our relationship with the Lord. Do we love Him with our best love? Does He have the first place in our hearts?

The Lord told the church in Ephesus to repent for leaving their first love. We should all spend some time in prayer to open our hearts to the Lord. We can pray something like this:

“Lord Jesus, I do love You. But show me anything that I love more than You. I want to love You with my first and best love. I repent of the things that have taken Your place in my heart. Lord Jesus, I want to love You above all else.”

As we pray this way, He will show us the things that we love more than Him. Under His shining, we can repent. Our hearts will be unloaded, and we can begin to love Him with our first love again.

Spending time with the One we love

So how can we maintain our first love for the Lord? 

Spending time with the people we love is indispensable. Two people can say that they love one another, but if they seldom talk or spend time with each other, their love isn’t very real. When it comes to love, time together is everything. 

It’s the same when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. The more time we spend in fellowship with Him, the more our appreciation and love for Him grows.

How we spend our time every day reveals what occupies us, what our priorities are, and what we love. All day long, we’re presented with choices related to our time. For instance, how do we begin our day? Do we immediately reach for our device, scrolling or reading through our emails? Or do we put everything aside to spend time in fellowship with the Lord to behold Him first? This is a very practical choice.

There is something special about being with the Lord first thing in the morning, before we’re weighed down or filled with other things. In the unsullied freshness of a new day, we can spend time with Him in fellowship, prayer, and the Word. Opening our hearts to Him, we can bask in His presence and let Him draw us more to Himself. By spending time with the Lord this way, we nurture our love for Him. 

Then throughout the day, we can maintain our love for the Lord by telling Him we love Him. He delights in hearing us declare our love to Him. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, we can quietly say, “Lord Jesus, I love You. I love You with all my heart.”  Telling the Lord again and again that we love Him keeps our love for Him fresh, and fills our hearts with appreciation for Him.

We can also express our love to the Lord Jesus by singing to Him. For instance, we can sing a song like this that encourages us to love the Lord with our best love:

Jesus Lord, You’re our first love;
You’re the One we love the best.
When our heart is loving You,
How we’re filled with Your sweet rest!

Lord, we love You for Yourself,
Not for what You give or do.
Nothing else could e’er compare
With the joy of loving you.

Lord, we’ve been drawn off by many things;
Now we turn our heart back—how it sings!
We repent of loving other things—
Jesus, Lord, You’re our first love.

Never more could we desire
Anything that’s less than You,
And to this we would aspire—
Simply to be filled with You.

Jesus Lord, You’re our first love;
You’re the One we love the best.
When our heart is loving You,
How we’re filled with Your sweet rest!

You can hear the tune to this song here.

We hope this post has helped you see that the Lord wants us to love Him with our first and best love, and that this is what keeps us in a proper relationship with Him.

If you live in the US, we encourage you to order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.