A new start – Day 12

It was a sad day when the queen of the kingdom died at a young age. She was not only loved by the king, but was also loved and respected by the whole kingdom. People travelled from all over the country to show their last respects. The king’s servants carried the coffin through the streets and the sound of sobbing people filled the air.

After the procession through the streets, the servants placed the coffin next to the grave, where the king fell to his knees and sobbed, “Justine! Justine! How will I ever live without you?” When he finally arose, he wiped away his tears and, with a determined look in his eyes, announced, “Servants, close the grave. We will not bury the queen in it. Tomorrow we will start building a temple, with only the finest materials, as a place of honour to our queen. No one must ever forget her!”

The construction started. As the months turned into years, the building became increasingly more impressive, but the builders paid less and less attention to the dusty wooden box in the middle of the room.

One day, the king entered the temple and, with satisfaction, admired the marble works and fine art on the walls. When he finished, he turned to walk out, but accidentally bumped his foot against the wooden box in the middle of the room. With irritation, he called one of the servants and commanded him to remove the box from the room. Unaware, the king ordered the servants to remove the queen from the temple.

How many of us have stepped into the same trap as this king? Initially, we are amazed at God’s greatness, love and redemption plan for humanity. We could not wait to tell people around us about Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Then, if we are not careful, we step into the enemy’s trap to become so busy with the things of the Lord (for example, soup kitchens, bazaars, other projects), that we forget about the Lord himself.

Listen again to God’s words in Revelation 2:2-5: “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance … Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.”

Can you, with a honest heart, say that God is still your first love? Or have you fallen into the trap of focusing too much on other things? Let us put him back on the throne of our hearts today. God bless.