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“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” — 1 John 2:6
In 1979, after years of turmoil, layoffs, and declining innovation, Steve Jobs returned to the company he had started—Apple Inc. The company was bloated with products, distracted by complexity, and losing its identity. Jobs didn’t begin with something wildly new. He began by simplifying. He cut dozens of projects and refocused on a few core products. Design. Clarity. Excellence. The same foundational principles that defined Apple in the beginning became the roadmap to its renewal. The return to basics didn’t shrink the company—it revived it.
There’s something powerful about first love. In the early days of faith, your heart burned with passion for God. Prayer was natural. Scripture was a treasure. Worship flowed freely. Fellowship stirred your soul. You didn’t just know about God—you delighted in Him.
But over time, life’s distractions and routines can clutter the soul, the way too many product lines cluttered Apple. Prayer becomes rushed. Scripture becomes informational instead of transformational. Worship becomes background noise. Fellowship becomes optional. We may long for the intimacy we once knew, but longing alone cannot restore it.
Returning to your first love is often less about adding something new and more about removing what distracts. It means refocusing on the core practices that shaped you in the beginning.
It begins with prayer—unfiltered, honest conversation with God. It continues with Scripture—not just reading but meditating and applying. Worship becomes surrender, not performance. Fellowship becomes shared encouragement and accountability.
These practices are not religious checkboxes; they are spiritual essentials. Just as Apple rediscovered clarity by narrowing its focus, your heart regains clarity when you return to foundational disciplines. The complexity fades. The noise quiets. The purpose sharpens.
Returning to your first love is not a dramatic overnight overhaul. It is intentional simplification. It requires humility to admit drift, courage to cut distractions, and persistence to rebuild rhythms. Start small if needed: one focused devotion, one meaningful prayer, one honest conversation.
Ultimately, returning to your first love is about presence, not perfection. When you commit again to the practices that once made your love alive, you rediscover not just the memory of intimacy—but its living reality.
Discussion Questions:
- Think back to when your faith first felt alive and personal. What specific practices (prayer habits, Scripture rhythms, worship moments, relationships) fueled that season—and which of those have you gradually drifted from?
- If returning to your first love means “cutting distractions and refocusing on fundamentals,” what is one concrete step you can take this week to simplify and intentionally rebuild a core spiritual rhythm?