Jeremiah says, “Remember and Return to Your Love”

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Picture of "love" scratched in the sand of the ocean.

Jeremiah’s main word for His people in today’s Bible reading* is “remember and return to your love.”

The word of the LORD came to me: “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: I remember the loyalty of your youth, your love as a bride— how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

They stopped asking, “Where is the LORD who brought us from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, through a land of drought and darkness, a land no one traveled through and where no one lived?”

The priests quit asking, “Where is the LORD?” The experts in the law no longer knew me, and the rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
Jeremiah 2:1–2, 6, 8 (CSB)

God sees the love that His people had for him at first, but they departed from Him. They lost their awe of Him. They stopped looking for Him. Even the priests and prophets lost their love. Finally, God summarizes what the people had done.

For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves— cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
Jeremiah 2:13 (CSB)

We see a similar situation in Revelation 2. God recognizes how His people began in the right place with the right priorities. But they lost the most important thing: Their love for Him. They failed to maintain their relationship with Him.

“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 2:1–5 (CSB)

Application

Look back over your walk with Jesus. Perhaps you’ve been a Believer for a long time. But look way back to you came to faith in Christ. Is your love and relationship with God as strong as it was back then?

Are you substituting your love for Jesus with activity? Are you focused more on where you’re going or on who you’re with now and will be with for all of eternity? Let me encourage you to return to your love.

I know, as with every relationship, your relationship with God can ebb and flow over the many seasons of life. But where are you right now?

What adjustments do you need to make in your life to rekindle your love for Him?

* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah 2
Jeremiah 3
Jeremiah 4


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