Our First Love

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

                                                                                     (Luke 2:25-32 KJV)

Believe it or not there are people in this world whose greatest desire is to see Jesus; to be near to him. Both Simeon and the prophet Anna had waited for that day. When Jesus was brought to the temple for the purification rites, their greatest desire was fulfilled. Simeon was overjoyed. At long last, he had met the Savior face to face.

I know that for many people it may be hard to believe that Jesus really is the center of some of our lives. He is our hope and our salvation. We trust in none other than Jesus for our salvation; for life. We are able to trust others; because we trust him first. We are able to love others; because he first loved us. He is our life and our salvation. Because of him, we can live in peace.

For some of us, it is difficult (at times) to understand how anyone would not put Jesus first. Why anyone would not give thanks to God as often as possible for the precious gift of our beloved Jesus is impossible to fathom. Life just goes a whole lot better when Jesus is at the center of our lives.

In St. John's Revelation, he is told to write to the angel of Ephesus and warn the people that Jesus holds the fact that they have forgotten their first love against them. (Rev 2:1-7)  Our first love is (or should be) our Lord and Savior. You shall love the LORD your God above all things. In this you will know peace.

May God grant that we should all have the faith of Simeon as we wait for the day when we shall see Jesus with our own eyes.

God's Peace - Pr. J