Too Much

Cheesecake is a staple at some of our family holidays. Our grandmother used to make the most amazing cheesecake on the planet. Her first cheesecakes were just plain NY style. Over the years, she experimented with others like chocolate and raspberry, but there was just something about the simplicity of her original plain cheesecake that made me push aside all the others. I miss her cheesecakes. Even if a family member were to replicate one exactly, it wouldn’t count as the same to me. The love Nanny put into her cheesecakes cannot be replicated by anyone else; it was her unique love.

Our actions mean nothing without love behind them. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 13:1-3 (NKJV), “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” The word love in this verse is translated from the Greek word agape which is the highest form of love. It’s pure and unconditional.

Nanny poured years of love into her plain cheesecakes before she ever added any frills. All those years of persistently replicating the original recipe made that plain NY cheesecake perfect in my eyes. Were the other cheesecakes good? Yes, of course, but the “extra” took away from the original’s purity. Our walk with God can be the same way at times.

Jesus tells the church of Ephesus in Rev 2:4-5, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 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 lampstand from its place.” At first, this verse seems harsh, but Jesus’ sadness for the church is so evident in His words. The church of Ephesus took the plain cheesecake and added so many frills that they could no longer taste the purity of the original.

The frills may not be sin, but they become unnecessary additions to the original love. We believe the lies of the enemy and create conditions on God’s love. We add a little chocolate to the batter with exactly 62.85 minutes a day in prayer. A little caramel will make Jesus like our cheesecake more, so we post as many bible verses and Christian memes as possible on Facebook. Who doesn’t like nuts with their caramel? So, we make sure we pray daily for the neighbor, their dog and their sister’s aunt’s uncle’s daughter. Those nuts look a little plain, so we add sprinkles with some fasting. The first piece of that cheesecake might taste really good, but, after 4-5 pieces, one might start feeling a bit sick.

My cheesecake additives may seem a little silly, but each of us has toppings or ingredients we’ve added to our lives that we may have forgotten don’t earn any extra love from the Lord. In fact, like too many pieces of fancy cheesecake will quickly make us sick, our “to-do lists” for the Lord will wear us out. As we get weary, we don’t realize just how far we have fallen from our first love.

Jesus told the church of Ephesus to “do the things you did at first.” “We love because He first loved us,” 1 John 4:19. He loved us first, and, at first our actions were a reaction to His love. Our actions were pure and unconditional. We prayed only because we loved to be in God’s presence. We posted on Facebook because we wanted to share a verse that truly moved our soul. We prayed for the neighbor’s dog because we wanted to show our neighbor God’s love. Over time, we repeat these actions out of habit or obligation- not love. Jesus is calling us back to our first love. He is calling us back to the pure and unconditional love that He first showed us. He is calling us back to actions performed only out of love.

Lord Jesus, open my eyes to the extra toppings I have added to our relationship. Remind me of what Your pure and unconditional love feels like. Help me to love because You first loved me. In Jesus’ Name.