But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
Hosea 12:6
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a “doer.” In the Bible, Martha is my spirit animal. I can so easily picture myself cooking and cleaning all day, getting ready for Jesus to come for dinner. Then while He is at my house I’m running around making sure the drinks are filled and people have enough to eat. Cleaning up spills and getting a jump on doing the dishes. All the while, slightly annoyed that others are sitting at His feet, enjoying His company while I slave away.
There’s a lot of pride wrapped up in that thinking. And I’ve had to learn to accept my “doing” nature while learning two things: 1) accepting that other people are born to be the type to relax and soak up the moment and 2) learning how to balance being a doer and not missing out on those special moments. Because Jesus admonishes us from His teachings in the gospels to His messages in Revelation to “return to our first love.” Meaning, Him.
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Revelation 2:4
This was the message to the church in Ephesus. They were doers. They took James’ messages to heart. They worked hard, served many and were also great at making sure false teachers didn’t enter their midst. But they forgot to be in awe and wonder for the Lord.
How often, when we feel like we are moving away from our faith do we turn to “doing” more rather than taking up Mary’s approach – sitting in awe and wonder at His feet?
Wonders are things out of the common, unusual things, extraordinary things. Usually they are unexpected; we wonder at them partly because they are novel and surprising. They take us aback; they are things which we looked not for. When they come they astonish us, and put us both in a muse and in a maze. We look, and look, and look, and cannot believe our eyes; we hear, and hear, and scarce believe our ears.
Charles Spurgeon
Sometimes I find myself listening to a story of wonder by a fellow Christian – a story where God has worked miraculously in their life – and I do a quick acknowledgement and move forward. As though this moment where God touched their life was so humdrum ordinary!

In a commentary on the restoration of our first love – the awe and wonder of Jesus Christ – Warren Wiersbe challenges us to take these steps:
Remember what we have lost.
Think back to when we were so excited about our relationship with the Lord. Remember when He has worked miraculously in our lives. Recall when we cried during our singing at church while we lifted our hands up to Him!
Repent (Change) our minds.
Decide that we want that awe, wonder and love back! It sounds obvious but if you haven’t done it yet, evaluate why.
Repeat your “1st Works.”
What are those? It was when you were devoted to prayer, mediation, Bible reading, service in His name, and worship
Thankfully, the world and God need both Marthas and Marys. When I get caught up in my “Martha-ness” I remember that Jesus had His own special relationship with Her. It was Martha that ran out to meet Jesus after Lazarus had died. She proclaimed to Him that she believed Him to be the Messiah, the Son of God.
For some people, life may be monotonous and meaningless; but it doesn’t have to be. For the Christian believer, life is an open door, not a closed circle; there are daily experiences of new blessings from the Lord.
Warren Wiersbe
I want to always be in touch with my “First Love.” I want to live with that sense of awe and wonder. And when I feel it fading I need only to sit in quiet mediation and allow His Holy Spirit to rekindle the flame within me.
