Today’s passage says this: “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.” My brother, my sister, this speaks about our attitude towards learning, our desire to grow and our practice of Christianity.
Many people think that because they have already heard a topic preached, they have heard it all on that topic. Yet, the Bible tells us that “No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it” (Ecclesiastes 8:17). Yes, “no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Therefore we cannot allow ourselves to become self-sufficient, bored, complacent or impatient with messages on the basics of the Christian life. Too many believers neglect the basics of their faith at some point of time of their walk with the Lord, because they aspire to learn more. My friend, if you forget how to calculate 1 + 1, at some point, you will not be able to calculate a simple equation. However, life is made of simple or complicated equations that only the basics can sometimes help you solve. As a result, self-sufficiency, boredom, complacency or impatience resulting from the negligence of our basics can also push us to try to do things our own way instead of waiting on the Lord. May be the fact that you have tried to used complicated methods to solve certain equations, and this caused doubt or stagnation in your faith as the solution seems very difficult to find. It is time to revise your basics. How?
Today’s verses recall us that even as we go on to study deeper truths in the Word of God, just as athletes who continue to practice and refine the basics of their discipline, we need constant reminders of the fundamentals of our faith and of how we came to believe in Christ, in the beginning. Today, look into the basics of your faith to get the strength you need to move on. The Lord has given you this strength early on, so instead of praying to be strengthened, come back to your first love, which is where your basics are. Yes, today, remember your first love. Remember how much you loved Jesus in the beginning and come back to it. Love Him again as at the beginning, when you still had the fear of Him, when you fully rested upon Him, when nothing and no one was in between Him and you… Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.