Life Lessons From 25 New Testament CharactersSample

First Love

John is known as “the disciple Jesus loved”. Obviously, Jesus loved all of His followers, but this Love is one that John repeatedly writes about in the Gospel he wrote and in the letters he sent to the church (1, 2, & 3 John and Revelation). John described our relationship with God as one that is intended to be close and experiential. There is a true sense that John genuinely considered Jesus Christ his first and ultimate love. God wasn’t just a religious figure or an admired political leader. Jesus captured John’s loyalty, love, affection, and devotion. His life and writings are a constant encouragement for us to follow our True Love, Jesus Christ, and to fix our eyes on His second coming as John wrote down in Revelation.

THINK and PRAY:

John came to realize how deeply God loved him when Christ intersected His life. The deep love John found in Jesus changed him. He saw Christ’s love in action through His supernatural life, death, resurrection, and return to heaven (with a promise to come again for His people). John emphasized love in all of his writings because he knew its supernatural power to change people’s lives; the love of Christ that impacted him and many others before and after Jesus went to Heaven. Has the deep love of Jesus Christ impacted you? When you hear the famous verse from John 3:16 that says that God sent His one and only Son to save humanity...you and me...from eternal death and give us eternal life...does that impact you to love Christ from the deepest part of your heart? Jesus did not just “talk love”. He displayed it! He acted on it. He died as a sacrifice (which John saw this firsthand) and rose again (John also witnessed this)! John assures us, too. Those who have accepted Christ as their first love -over sin, over the world, over themselves - have become new creations through faith in Jesus. And He will come back again out of love to bring us home to Him! John knew that home was with Christ, the Lover of his soul. Have you found Jesus to be the same for you — the greatest Friend, deepest Love, Savior and Lord of your life now and forevermore?