Our First Love

Mark 1:29-2:12 “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:40, KJV). The motivating force in Jesus was to do the will of the Father. His first love was the Father, and everything He did on earth was first to please His heavenly Father. In this passage we see Jesus’ great love for the Father as He put the Father and His will first and obeyed the Father. Many people came to Jesus for healing and deliverance, and He healed all who came to Him, but He knew that His Father had called Him to preach. First He obeyed the Father in fulfilling His call, but He also was moved with love for the people. When the leper approached Him, he was moved with compassion.

Jesus had a soul even as we do because He was both man and God. He had a mind, emotions and a will. His will was motivated always by love. The actions we do daily should stem from our love first for the Father and then toward others. God has given us many gifts, but if those gifts are released from our lives with any other motivation in our hearts but love, they are wood, hay and stubble in God’s sight. All the works we do on earth that are not motivated by love will be burned when our works are judged in heaven.

I had a perfect illustration of how love is to be the channel for every word, deed and gift in our lives. I was standing in the kitchen washing dishes when suddenly the whole kitchen faucet flew off, and the water became a geyser that reached the ceiling and splashed down on me. I panicked, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to turn off the water so I could screw the faucet on again. As I screwed the faucet on tightly and then turned the water on gently, I clearly saw the purpose of a faucet. A faucet channels water in such a way that it is effective. The flow of water now had direction and purpose, when before it just got me all wet because the faucet was missing and there was no direction. As I pondered this, I heard God speak to my heart. “I have given gifts to men, but these gifts must be channeled through My love. If love is not the motivating force in your words and deeds, then what you say and do daily is in vain. For your life to have direction and purpose, your words and deeds must always be channeled through My love. My power and gifts can easily be misdirected and misused with others if love for Me first is not the motivating force of your will. Disastrous results can occur when I am not your first love. If the power of My Spirit is not channeled through loving actions, people you minister to will experience power without purpose. My purpose is to refresh and change them eternally by My Spirit.”

READ: Leviticus 1:1-3:17; Mark 1:29-2:12; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 9:13-18