Love Resurrected: Finding Jesus Again in the Midst of Spiritual Departure

Posted on Jan 25, 2024 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

It used to be that people went to church to strengthen their faith, especially during times of excess stress and anxiety. Not anymore. Despite the turmoil in our own backyard brought about by urban strife and political unrest, not to mention the dozens of conflicts going on the in the world right now, church attendance is in decline. According to Jim Davis and Michael Graham, co-authors of The Great Dechurching, 40 million U.S. adults have left the church in the last 20 years. That’s a startling trend, but it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it may be an opportunity—not to woo people back to church, but to bring them back to Jesus.

Don’t get us wrong. We love the church and believe that it’s where Christians use their spiritual gifts, hear the preaching of the Word, observe the Sacraments (baptism and communion), and love one another (okay, that last one is tougher than the others). But unless we love Jesus first and keep him in the center of all things, the church can become little more than a social club.

This tendency to lose our love for Jesus isn’t new. In his assessment of the seven churches in the book of Revelation, Jesus complimented the church in Ephesus before delivering a withering complaint: “You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” (Rev. 2:3,4, NLT).

Is it possible that 40 million people have left the church because they have lost their love for Jesus and each other? If it could happen to members of the Ephesian church, the same ones the apostle Paul called “holy people” and “faithful followers of Christ Jesus,” don’t you think it could happen to us? And for those of us who have stuck around in church, let’s not get on our high horse and proclaim, “At least we haven’t left the church like those other losers.” We need to admit that we may be just as guilty of loving Jesus less than we should.

So, what do we do? How do we return to our first love? May we suggest that the way to love Jesus first is to realize just how much Jesus loves us. For those of us who literally grew up in the church, the first song we learned as kids was the simple ditty, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Yes, it’s simple, but so very profound. Over and over again the Bible tells us how much we are loved by God. Here's one of our favorite Bible verses expressing God’s extravagant love for us.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

This is sacrificial, unconditional love of the deepest kind. Understanding the extent of God’s love helps us to love Jesus and others just like we did at first because Jesus is the one we received as Savior and Lord, and it’s Jesus who showed us how to love one another. That’s why loving Jesus is not something we do once. It’s an everyday kind of love, coming from the very center of our beings as we reflect each day on just how deeply Jesus loves us.

Now, a final word about the church. If you are one of the 40 million “leavers” who have pretty much given up on the church, may we humbly suggest that you give church another chance. Maybe not the church you left, but a local church that faithfully teaches the Bible, provides opportunities to grow as a disciple of Jesus, and provides opportunities for you to serve others in your church and in your community.

Most of all, find a church that shows you how to love Jesus first. Not only will you find peace and hope in the midst of a troubled world, but you will experience a kind of joy you never thought possible.

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Bruce and Stan have been co-written more than 75 books, with 35 of those titles published by Harvest House. Their latest book from Harvest House is Ten Essentials for New Christians.