Fresh Encounter

 Experiences fade over time. I can remember the first time I saw Niagara Falls. Coming over the Peace Bridge into Canada, and the back seat filled with me and the Craig boys, we all got the first glimpse together. There were gasps and wows as we gaped through the now open window into the misty view of the Falls.

I went a few years later and stood by the Falls again with my wife. I remember saying something like, "Wow. I forgot how massive they are." Experiences and encounters fade.

This is why we return to places, to remember and recall the initial encounter or experience. It's why couples go back to the place where they got engaged, the site of the first date, or where they first kissed. I've found that when I ask any couple about how they met, where they hung out, and when they knew they were in love, their eyes will light up and the conversation gets more animated--even if they are experiencing present difficulties and stress in their relationship. It's even more real, when you actually go there. Something about going back to remember can renew the experience of love.

It's helpful for Christ-followers too:

• renewing mission by going back to remember why you do what you do
• going back to the place where you made a decision for Christ
• recalling encounters with God noted in your journal

Maybe this is what Jesus is saying in Revelation to those followers in Ephesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first" (Rev. 2:4,5a NIV). The encounter of first love has faded.

I want a fresh encounter with God, a freshness in my love for Him, a fresh vision for this year. Bring it on.