“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first…. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:4-5, 7 (ESV)
In the often cold and snowy wintery season, there comes around each year in February a day dedicated to love. It is a time when romance tugs at people’s hearts, thoughts, plans, and time, and when tens of millions of people in the United States simultaneously celebrate the rekindling of their love. For Christians, this season of tenderness can and perhaps should be a time when we reflect upon the nature of love, where it comes from, and what it demands of us.
Through the preservation of revelation recorded in biblical Scripture we know, and should deeply appreciate, that our ability to love others comes from the nature and actions of God. In 1 John 4:9 it is recorded that “We love because He first loved us.” In fact: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (NIV). God, whose nature is Love, made the first move to love us while we were still but enemies of His (see Romans 5:10); this is worthy of our thoughtful reflection and appreciation every day, yet some, if not many, of us have allowed this amazing Truth to be forgotten, or underappreciated, or lost in our familiarity and comfort with it. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6, NIV).
God graciously warns us in the prophetic book of Revelation that many believers will fall away as they forget the primacy and importance of their love for God, turning from repentance and the narrow path to a life of lukewarmness. The worries of this world and our sinful nature, battle against us daily as we seek to stay on the straight and narrow path to life. God calls us to repent from our backsliding and to overcome this sin with a return to the righteous life and to the deeds we first practiced when we first encountered His great love (Revelation 2:4-7).
Spring is a time of growth and renewal. May this be a time that Christian librarians joyfully renew their commitments both to their loving Lord and Savior and to the fulfilment of their calling to serve their communities and patrons with love, compassion, and the heart of a servant.
Heavenly Father, in the name and finished work of Jesus our Messiah, and through the power of our great Helper, the Holy Spirit who indwells and comforts us, grant us the initiative and blessing to return to You, our first love, that we might so love others, walking in the good works you have prepared for each of us in this our lives of service to You.
“Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus—
Love of every love the best—
’Tis an ocean vast of blessing;
’Tis a haven sweet of rest.”
~ Samuel Trevor Francis, 1875.
Dr. Michael Robert Smith
Michael serves as the University Librarian at Colorado Christian University. He is a new 2026 ACL member and currently resides in Conifer, CO.