Today's thought comes to you once again from Charles Spurgeon -- a man who has rightly been called, "The Prince of Preachers." He simply had a way with illustrations that many today (myself included) lack.
Unfortunately, for this particular thought I do not have the name of the
book I took it from. I merely came across it in a document stored in
my computer files with no reference to the source. Sorry about that!Yet his words took me on a journey of remembrance back to my earliest days in Christ where I couldn't help but affirm a good part of what he says. Maybe it will do the same for you. And if so, maybe you could also pray the prayer I have added at the end. Enjoy.
"Spring in the Heart"
"You have lost your
first love..." Rev. 2:4
"In looking back upon
the ‘springtime’ of my Christian walk, I sometimes think God blessed me then in
a way in which I wish he would bless me now.
An apple tree when loaded
with apples is a very comely sight; but give me, for beauty, the apple tree in
bloom.
The whole world does not present a more lovely sight than an apple
blossom. Painters have declared that there is nothing in the whole world to
excel it in beauty. Now, a full-grown Christian laden with fruit is a blessed
sight, but still there is a blessedness, a peculiar blessedness about the young
Christian in bloom.
Let me just tell you what I
think that blessedness is. You as a young believer have probably now a greater
tenderness about sin than some professors who have known the Lord for years;
they might wish that they felt your tenderness of conscience. You have now a
graver sense of duty, and a more solemn fear of the neglect of it than some who
have known the Lord for years; and you have a greater zeal than many. You are
now doing your first works for God, and burning with your first love; nothing
is too hot for you or too hard for you.
To go to a sermon, now—no
matter what weather it may be—seems to you to be an imperative necessity; you
would go over hedge and ditch to hear the Word. But some who are of older
growth want soft cushions to sit upon; they cannot stand in the aisle now as they
used to do, everybody must be particularly polite when they come in, or they
care not to worship at all."
If you happen to remember
those days, and in contrasting them with now, notice a significant
difference, maybe you could join me in praying this prayer:
"Lord, may we always
remember the "springtime" of our walk with you. The zeal, the
passion, the thirst, the longing, the willingness to
sacrifice, our tenderness of conscience and remorse over even the
slightest sin or disobedience. Our heartfelt desire to please you, and know you
better, and share about you with others. And that stirring in our hearts where
we yearned to be used by you to change this world -- regardless of the cost to
us, the way people might view us, or the far off places it might take us.
And let us not only remember those things, but
with Mr. Spurgeon, let us hope for and earnestly desire that you might bless us
once again with a greater portion of each one. Even more so, let us not
be passive, but remember the admonition you give to those who have
lost their first love: "Repent and do the things we did at
first." Do this, we pray, as we also do our part -- for the
glory of our Lord Jesus, whose zealous love for us never falters or fades or diminishes
in its burning intensity. Amen."
With You in the Joy of
Serving Jesus, Pastor Jeff
