Restoring First Love

394. Salvation Isn’t What You Think!

Mike Parsons

Mike Parsons reflects on memes and quotes from social media.

Salvation isn’t what you think. People often view the miracles and healings in Jesus’ ministry as separate from what He accomplished on the cross, as if healing bodies and restoring lives were somehow different from the salvation of our souls. But Jesus’ entire ministry—His healings, His miracles, His death, and His resurrection—are all part of the same mission: bringing us into God’s shalom, into God’s peace.

Shalom, in Hebrew, means wholeness, the healing of all that is wrong. The word we translate as “salvation” is sozo, which means saved, healed and restored—a perfect reflection of shalom. Look at how Jesus shalomed people. He didn’t just forgive sins; He made broken people whole. When He healed the lepers, He wasn’t simply curing disease. He was restoring them to community, dignity, and life itself.

As Brian Finley says, “When Jesus healed, He didn’t just fix the physical; He restored lives in every way.”

Jeff Do writes, “The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the new birth of all humankind. He who is the firstborn from the dead is the firstborn of all creation because all creation has been made alive in Christ.” What Jesus did is for all creation. Everything He created, He reconciled to Himself.

There are so many great and uplifting quotes like these. I encourage you to look for positive and encouraging messages that reflect love and grace. When you see a quote, meme, or post, ask yourself—what frequency does it carry? Does it reflect love and kindness? Is it full of grace? Or does it feel harsh, unloving, judgmental or unkind? We must be cautious not to embrace negativity when there is so much positive encouragement available. Focus on what uplifts and inspires.

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This is an excerpt from Mike’s current ‘Restoring First Love’ series. Sign up for one payment of £30 GBP at https://eg.freedomarc.org/first-love and receive a recording each month as they are released (ad-free and with many extras). Or become a Patreon patron and join Mike live online for each teaching!

373. Salvation is NOT ‘Going to Heaven When You Die’

Mike Parsons

Wholeness Now

Salvation is not about “going to heaven after death.” Surprisingly, the words “saved” and “heaven” never appear together in the Bible. Salvation means restoration to wholeness in the present, not something that happens after death. The idea of being “promoted to heaven” or “crossing the Jordan” is part of a religious system that has promoted a mistaken tradition.

Salvation is about experiencing wholeness here and now, bringing us into the true identity of who we are. If you have been indoctrinated to think that your salvation depends on your efforts in any way, you will remain stuck in trying to secure it. This was my experience, coming from an evangelical background, where salvation seemed to depend on my ability to trust God, my faith, or what I did in asking God into my life.

Rather than realising what had already been accomplished, I viewed salvation as an ongoing effort—trying to be good enough and acceptable to God through practices like reading the Bible, praying every day, witnessing, and fulfilling the perceived requirements of being a “good Christian.” But who said we were supposed to do those things? Jesus did not—the church did. Deconstruction is the process of removing that indoctrination and replacing it with truth, renewing and transforming our minds.

All of humanity is included

Even if someone does not believe they are saved, they still are; they just do not believe it yet. This is the truth: all of humanity is included in what the Father already accomplished through Jesus to forgive, redeem, and reconcile us to himself. The work is finished, and everyone has been declared righteous, justified, and forgiven. Whether or not someone believes this truth, it remains the truth.

The New Covenant was made between the Father and the Son and included all of humanity. Teaching that we must make a free will decision to be included is ‘a church-invented heresy’, as Don Keithley says. “Our free will decision is simply to accept what has already happened, to realise that we are already included—not to make it happen. If Jesus included the doubter, Thomas, the denier, Peter, and the traitor, Judas, I seriously doubt anyone is excluded from his work today.”

No one is excluded from what Jesus came to do and to finish. He came to take away the sin—the lost identity—of the world, not just a few people but the whole world, and every person in it. What we believe about God does not define him, and our doctrines do not even define us, though they often label us. Many of us have been labelled by what we believe, whether Baptist, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Anglican, or any other denomination. But God knows the truth about us, and what he knows, demonstrated in Christ, is what defines us.

Equal Value

Jesus is what God believes about us. The love God has for his Son, Jesus, is the same love He has for us. When we are reconciled to God, it is important to understand that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. The term ‘world’ here is the Greek word kosmos, and ‘reconciliation’ in this sense is an accounting term. The debit and credit must balance.

The value we hold for God is the same value God holds for Jesus. This is a profound truth: we are of equal value to God as Jesus. Understanding this is key to grasping the fullness of our identity and value in the eyes of God.

The truth that sets us free

Adam’s choice to walk independently of God did not change the nature of God the Father. God still desires a relationship with us, just as he did with Adam. The Father still longs to walk with us in the garden, to restore that relationship. We need to see that this relationship can be restored, and this realisation is an essential part of our journey.

Deconstruction takes different forms. Some people reject the conditional love taught by religion and walk away from organised faith, while others discover unconditional love outside of religion. God is love, and this is a fundamental truth. However, God does not deconstruct us by focusing on the lies we believe, but by revealing the truth that sets us free. This process renews our minds to the truth, and in doing so, those false beliefs naturally fall away.

The truth we know through experience will set us free. So let us focus on positive solutions, not negative problems. Do not try to deconstruct your beliefs with the same thinking that created them. Instead, allow God to encounter you in such a way that it changes what you believe, leading to a transformation based on truth, not on doctrine.

The ‘Second Coming’

Many Christians are still waiting for the second coming of Jesus. However, as I have discussed before, the ‘second coming’ already happened, in AD 70. This means that many are looking for the wrong event. Creation does not recognise Christians waiting to be rescued; it recognises sons and daughters who are living out the truth. Religion has deeply ingrained in us a fear of the future—the fear of tribulation, of the rapture, of trouble to come.

But we do not not need to fear the future. The Spirit of Truth was given so that we, as sons and daughters, might shape the future. Fear never comes from God, and perfect love casts out fear. Therefore, let’s ensure we are not operating out of fear, worrying about what might happen tomorrow, but instead live in the blessing and provision of today. There is no ‘Great Tribulation’ on the horizon. There may be personal tribulations, but God will be with us through them. The biblical ‘Great Tribulation’ was the end of the old age, the age of the old covenant, and it has already passed.

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362. Romancing with God on the Dance Floor

Lakah

The Gardens of Lakah showed me how much God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit, loved me and desired a deeper relationship with me, restoring me to be part of a family. I didn’t really understand family, because my own experiences didn’t give me a full understanding of what family and relationship really were in my childhood. Now, as an adult with a family, I looked to my work and what I then discovered in that relationship, but I wasn’t always successful. The Father, however, desired to reveal to me my sonship identity within family – not independently, not just between me and God, but within the family of God. There was only so much I could handle at that stage, so God revealed the amount of truth I could bear, while mysteries that I couldn’t yet handle would be unveiled to me in the future.

That’s what happened in that dance-floor experience, similar to what Jesus said to his disciples in John 16:12: “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present.” All of us have the Spirit of Truth within us, guiding us into all truth, but we may not always be able to handle that truth. Like in the famous film quote, “You can’t handle the truth,” I couldn’t handle it all at once. Some truths were unveiled gradually, allowing me to handle more and more until those truths deconstructed the lies I had believed. My experiences were progressive, often mysterious, but that’s okay – we don’t have to understand everything.

Segullah

God brought me into the Segullah relationship – a deep, treasured connection where He declares, “You are my treasured possession; you are the apple of my eye.” This was the revelation I received through these dance-floor encounters, showing me who God is and revealing my true identity and destiny as a son. I didn’t fully understand sonship initially, but through these dances with God in my heart – a place of intimacy and revelation – I became entwined with Him, moving deeper into union and unveiling who I really am. This slow, intimate dance, moving between light and darkness, wasn’t about fear, but about trust in the Lover of my soul, who was capturing my heart more and more.

The song “Behold, you have come over the hills upon the mountains, to me you will run, my beloved, you’ve captured my heart” perfectly captures what God did in the garden – He captured my heart. He desired this deeper intimacy, and I pursued more of Him. The romance of this relationship continued as we danced to the song of all songs, not one I heard with words, but one I felt – a frequency resonating with the truth of my origin in Him. This dance revealed my identity, my DNA as a son of God, and the very essence of who I am. Through this, I began to go beyond into the mystery of sonship – far beyond what I could imagine – but God danced me into it, and later I would resonate with what I’d experienced there.

[This is an except from Mike’s current teaching series, Restoring First Love. Get the full length videos every month, only at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love]

Darkness and light

Psalm 139:10 says, “Even there your right hand will lead me, and your right hand will take hold of me.” At first, I found it difficult to understand why there was darkness, but then I came across this verse. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, symbolising where we sit in a position of authority beside the Father. He holds our left hand with His right, giving us authority and guiding us. He led me in the dance – I wasn’t leading, I was following Him.

When I felt overwhelmed, as if the darkness was too much, I remembered Psalm 139:11-12: “If I say, surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night, even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is as bright as the day.” This isn’t about physical darkness, but about revelation and the illumination of truth. There were things not yet illuminated to me, mysteries I couldn’t comprehend. Even though everything is known to God, to me, many things were still unknown. Yet God prepared me, placing the frequency of those experiences within me so that the mysteries would eventually lead me into the light of revelation.

Psalm 139:13 is a passage I’ve meditated on a lot: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The psalmist could declare this with confidence, but I struggled to say it because I viewed myself through the lens of my humanity and failures, rather than my sonship. But this was what God wanted to engage me in – the truth of who I am as His creation, even though I couldn’t fully accept it at first.

Psalm 139 continues: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” This doesn’t mean we have a limited number of days, but that our ordained days as sons of God were written and belong to us in our sonship. It speaks of the eternal nature of who we are in God. God’s thoughts towards me, as it says in verse 17, are vast, beyond my ability to think for myself. But over time, He revealed them to me, helping me to see myself as He sees me.

So, I humbled myself under God’s mighty hand, accepting His view of who I am, rather than trying to validate myself through my own works. I was danced into the light of revelation and also into the darkness of mystery – those things I couldn’t yet comprehend with my mind, but which my spirit resonated with and was drawn to. Later, these mysteries were unveiled as I grew in understanding.

Activation

So, get relaxed. Begin to focus on your breathing. Breathe in very, very slowly, hold that breath, and then begin to let it out. As you’re breathing in, you’re breathing in the unconditional love of the Father. That unconditional love is filling you, touching every fibre of your being. It’s flowing through you.

Picture that door in your spirit and choose to open the door. Your choice is an invitation to the Father, for Him to come and hug you. Hear His words: “I love you. I love you, my son, my daughter. I love you.”

Hear some of the vast sum of His thoughts. Let them restore you to His original desire for you. Maybe you’ll resonate with them in your spirit. Be open to an infusion of His thoughts about you—of who you really are.

Now, let the Father take you by the hand and lead you. Maybe He’ll lead you to the dance floor, entwine with you heart to heart, and dance with you into the light and into the mysteries. As He dances with you, allow your spirit to draw from Him. Let your spirit resonate with that truth. Let even the mysteries be deposited within you—the truth of your identity, the mysteries of your destiny.

Go wherever God takes you. Maybe you can dance with the Lover of your soul. Let Him romance you. Let Him sing the song of your life over you. Feel the rhythm, feel the frequency, feel the life that it activates within you.

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353. God’s Offspring – or Adopted Children?

Mike Parsons –

God’s desire is for us to embody love because we are made in His image—He is love, light and spirit. Our spirits are light, and we’re designed to love just as God does. The highest goal is to give love, reflecting God’s image. When we follow an independent path, it distorts love into a need and driving force, leading us to seek love from others rather than giving it ourselves.

A common misunderstanding is that we were separated from God and need adoption back into His family. This view, often held in evangelical circles, is flawed. God never separated from us; we were never outside His family. So adoption is our coming of age within that family, not rescue from abandonment. Biblical adoption is about maturity and coming into full authority from the Father, not placing orphans into new families. Genesis 1:26 shows that God created us in His image and blessed us to be fruitful and rule on the earth. Adam’s choice to walk independently disrupted this plan, but now, in Christ, we are redefined by our identity in Him.

Any idea that Jesus is the true Son and we are merely adopted obscures our true identity: we have always been God’s children, made in His image and likeness. Our perception of rejection or abandonment is false. Romans 8:14 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” The Spirit is in everyone, guiding us all, even if we don’t always follow. When Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into His disciples, He revealed their true identity. We all have received God’s Spirit, confirming that we are His children and helping us understand who we really are.

So our Western and Roman concept of ‘adoption’ might not fully capture what the Bible word means. Some interpret adoption as something that happens when we accept salvation or when God adopts us. However, this interpretation can also imply that we were once orphans or outside God’s family, which isn’t accurate. Romans 8:15-17 explains that we have received the Spirit of adoption, not as a sign of previous separation but to affirm our existing sonship. The Spirit confirms that we are already God’s children and co-heirs with Christ. This adoption isn’t about coming from outside into the family but recognising our inherent identity as God’s offspring.

God has always been our origin; we just need to rediscover this truth. Romans 8:14-17 in the Mirror Bible describes the Spirit leading us into the fullness of life in God, showing that we are His children, not through fear but through a relationship with Abba Father.

And Jesus’ suffering was for our benefit, not a requirement for entering our inheritance. The idea that we must suffer to gain inheritance is a misunderstanding. Jesus suffered so that we wouldn’t have to face the same trials. We are not orphans; Jesus assured us that He would not leave us as orphans but would come to us, showing that God dwells within us and is not distant or rejecting. If we teach that people are orphans or rejected by God, we distort the gospel and the true nature of salvation. The message of salvation reflects God’s nature as loving and inclusive, not as one who condemns or separates.

We have the rights and responsibilities of sonship, as part of God’s royal family. Peter tells us that we’re privileged to represent God on earth, showing others what He is like through our relationship with Him. Initially, Israel was meant to fulfil this role, but their system became law-based rather than grace-based. Romans 8:19 reveals that creation eagerly awaits the revealing of God’s children. If we see ourselves as ‘lesser’ adopted children, we miss out on our role as co-creators with God. Being part of a royal family gives us access to the Heavenly Palace, where we’re seated with Jesus and can engage with God intimately in His presence.

Despite being taught that we’re orphans needing adoption, the truth is we’ve always been part of God’s family. According to Ephesians 1:4, our restored face-to-face relationship with God is a done deal, and God’s love will eventually bring everyone to this realisation. Our true identity means we don’t need to live like orphans. We can experience our origin in first love, knowing God as our loving Father. The Spirit confirms this, enabling us to call God “Abba Father.”

Picture a door in your spirit.
God is knocking: invite Him in.
As He enters, He hugs you and breathes His life into you.
Feel His heartbeat and embrace.
Know that you’re home.

He whispers into your heart,
sharing His love and affirmation,
telling you how treasured and loved you are.

352. Relational Beings of Limitless Potential

The complete fifth session of the current monthly teaching series by Mike Parsons, “Restoring First Love”, originally delivered live in a Zoom with our Patreon patrons. These full length sessions are normally only available to patrons and at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love.

Video Summary

“Mankind’s union with God is the original thought that inspired creation.”
– Francois Du Toit.

Reflecting on my journey with God, I see how He has led me into an extraordinary union and intimacy that I never imagined possible. Initially, I struggled to grasp His love for me beyond the theological, but He gradually revealed my true identity as His Son. In 2008 and 2010, my encounters with God began to go beyond Bible reading: I started meditating on specific verses but soon realised the connection to Heaven was always open.

Experiencing the rivers of Eden flowing through my heart deepened my intimacy with Him. Embracing my experiences without overanalysing them, I used journaling to revisit and deepen them. Opening my heart daily to God became a way of life, guiding me into constant communion.

During a group encounter, I encouraged people to picture a door and invite Jesus in. One participant’s experience in going back through that doorway inspired me to do the same. This shift allowed for a continuous flow between heaven and my heart, guided by Jesus, the Father, or the Spirit.

I engaged with the garden of my heart, resting and planting seeds of testimony by the River of Life; seeds which grew into trees, bearing fruit. My journey included discovering gemstones, scrolls, and a waterfall. Behind the waterfall, I encountered a cave where Enoch gave me transformative quests. These experiences brought me to the Tree of Life and the Throne of Grace. A profound moment under the waterfall showed me God’s love for everyone, even those who have caused harm, removing judgment and deepening my compassion.

On the Throne of Grace, I received a scroll of destiny from the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. In an intense encounter, the consuming fire of God purified it, leaving only love. Plunging down a waterfall into the Father’s Garden, I felt a deep connection with creation and discovered the origin odf my design. This opened new realms of understanding and intimacy with the Father.

These encounters were all about drawing closer to God in intimacy. The more I have walked this path, the more I have understood the Father’s heart is focused on restoring both our sonship and all creation. In future sessions, I’ll share more about these revelations, and we can explore them together.

Activation: Deeper Into Love

A separate video of this activation is available on our Patreon page, free to view for all; it will be released on YouTube on September 5th.

I’d like to guide you through an activation, to engage wherever God leads you. The key to these experiences is to trust in God’s unconditional love, letting go of control and allowing Him to direct your journey. As you engage in this exercise, be open to the Father’s leading, and embrace the love He shows you.

To start, find a comfortable position, close your eyes, and begin to relax. Focus on connecting with God as your Father or Jesus as your friend and brother. Slow your breathing: inhale deeply through your nose, hold it for a moment, and then exhale slowly.

As you breathe in, draw in the unconditional love of the Father, filling every part of you with His love. Picture yourself cocooned in this love, safe and secure. Allow yourself to sink into the ocean of unconditional love, going deeper and deeper. Stay there for a few minutes.

If you wish to continue, picture a door in your spirit with a handle on your side. Open it and invite the Father, Son and Spirit to embrace you. Feel their love, acceptance and affirmation. Hear them say, “You are my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.” Stay in this place of love and peace for as long as you like.

If you want to go yet further, envision following the flow of the river into Eden. Step into the river and let it carry you through the heavenly realms. Enjoy the river’s life-giving flow. Look into the water for gems or scrolls, pick up and eat those that attract you, and receive the life and truth they offer.

Stay there, or choose to follow the river upstream to a waterfall. Walk or float under it, feeling God’s love cascading over you. Let the sound of the waters resonate with your heart. Feel God’s love for you and for others. Allow this love to inspire you to forgive and love others as He loves you. Release any unforgiveness or hurt by choosing to forgive and let go.

Feel free to stay in this space or continue exploring as you wish.

342. “God Punishes Those He Loves!”

Mike Parsons

In this session, I continue my series Restoring First Love.

Misunderstandings about God’s nature, such as this belief that He punishes those He loves, often stem from incorrect interpretations of scripture. Hebrews 12:5-6, commonly cited to support this view, is actually a misquotation of Proverbs 3:11-12, which speaks of God’s discipline as loving guidance, not punishment. Evangelical theology, influenced by doctrines like penal substitution and eternal conscious torment in ‘hell’, has misrepresented God’s character, which can distort our understanding of His love and lead to harmful practices such as corporal punishment.

When I reflect on my own experience with spanking, I acknowledge that it was based on incorrect teachings about God’s nature. True discipline from God is about correction and guidance, not punishment. God’s desire is to help us grow and align with our true identity in Him.

Finally, an activation exercise will help us connect more deeply with God’s love. By focusing on Him and breathing in His unconditional love, you can experience intimacy and healing. Visualise opening the door to your spirit and inviting the Father in, allowing His love to heal wounds and remove negative feelings. Rest in His presence and experience His love more fully.

340. Don’t Live on the Trickle!

Mike Parsons

Don’t live on the trickle flowing under the threshold of the gate. Open it to go ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep until it floods and fills us with abundant life.

Series information: You can only get the full-length videos of Mike’s new monthly series “Restoring First Love” when you sign up at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love.

Video Summary

There was a long lead-up to these experiences, and God had been preparing me my whole life. Hindsight is wonderful, and looking back, I see many signposts on my journey. At the time, I didn’t understand the experiences, but they were all part of God’s plan.

Questions

Questions worth asking include: Where is my first love gate? Where is the Garden of our heart? Are these literal places? They describe our soul and how God engages us. They are figurative, yet they are places of engagement within us that relate to spirit, soul and body. My experiences in revelation were progressive. The relationship deepened over time, and as I progressed, I understood more of who God is and who I am.

Jesus is knocking

Revelation 3:20, the first verse I ever spoke about publicly, says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with me.” Initially, I interpreted this as a salvation experience, but it’s more about an inside-out experience, where God, already within us, seeks to engage our soul and body. This is about God working inside us, filling us, and sharing life with us.

Paul’s experience of God revealing His Son within him illustrates this. Paul’s revelation was a shift from his religious path to a relationship with God. He preached about God ‘in’ the Gentiles, a message of inclusion and mystic union. Initially, I rejected this concept, but over the years, God showed me the finished work of Christ and the grace message, which I now fully embrace.

Open the gate

Opening the gate of first love daily is a choice. It’s about welcoming God into an intimate relationship, which for me was like a romance. To experience God’s first love, we need to open and accept the invitation. This is a mutual relationship, not one-sided.

How do we receive and experience His love? By choosing to open the gate for an intimate, interactive love relationship. Don’t live on the trickle, but open the gate to go deeper until it floods us with abundant life.

Expressing our love for God goes beyond praise and worship; it’s about making it a priority in our lives. God is always available and promises never to leave us. He’s speaking—are we listening?

Activation: Be Entwined In Love’s Embrace

Take a moment to close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply, and meditate on opening the first love gate. Picture a door, whether your front door or another familiar one. By choice, open that door and welcome the presence of God. Embrace this intimate relationship, stay in that embrace, and listen to God’s words of love and calling.

God calls us to step out of independence and into His ocean of love, joy, and peace. He calls forth our true identity as His sons and co-heirs, to manifest His Kingdom on Earth. Rest in His unconditional love, joy, and peace. Let this place of rest be your abiding dwelling place. Stay there as long as you need, and let it be a constant in your life.

338. A Glorious Entanglement

Mike Parsons

We are in a love awakening, a grace awakening, a joy awakening, a peace awakening, a true God awakening. The world is beginning to awaken, not necessarily the church, but the world – and those within the church who are open to pursuing something deep inside that’s calling them. I encourage everyone to embrace these awakenings and not hold back.

Video summary:

In this new series, I’ll share the journey that led to my restoration of my first love relationship with the Father, enabling me to discover my identity as a Son of God. Some struggle with being called a son or a bride, but in God’s eyes, we’re all sons. Gender doesn’t matter here; it’s about our identity and relationship with God. Our identity is rooted in our origin in God, discovered through first love. Sonship is about identity, relationship, and authority as co-heirs with Jesus.

Quotes

I’ve found some quotes to share. Don Keathley of the Grace Awakening Network says, “Not one single person on the planet is in Adam. If you’re in Adam, then Jesus was not the last Adam. We are new creations in Jesus.” We need to renew our minds to this truth. Jesus came to give us the doorway into full union with the Father now, in this world.

Luke Agee says, “Revelations are actually memories from your spirit that you forgot you knew, entering from your heart into your soul and mind.” Discovering our origin in first love can restore these memories, revealing who we were before and our full identity.

A Glorious Entanglement

Titus 1:2 in the Mirror Bible says, “This is the life of the ages, anticipated for generations.” All prophetic expectation was looking forward to our original design, which was in God’s heart before time and space existed. God’s desire for union and relationship with us inspired creation.

Galatians 2:20 in the Mirror Bible says, “Here I am, dead and alive at the same time. I’m dead to the old me I was trying to be, and alive to the real me, which is Christ in me.” This signifies our union with God. We’re co-crucified and now co-alive, in a glorious entanglement with Him. This union allows us to live freely, being our true selves immersed in His faith.

Living from Union

Our new nature is now a divine union. Jesus is resetting us from unbelief to knowing with certainty, so we can believe and experience everything He says. Let’s realign our internal world to this truth, trusting in Jesus’ every word spoken to us and living from the strength of our union with Him.

Activation: Be Entwined in Love’s Embrace

God wants us to experience rest, to abandon our soul into His unconditional love. Close your eyes and think about living loved. Breathe deeply, feeling His love flow through you.

Picture the door of first love within your spirit and open it. Welcome the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Embrace the union and intimacy with them, and let their love surround you.

God calls us to step out of the boat of independence and sink into the ocean of love, joy, and peace. He calls forth our true identity as sons and co-heirs, inviting us to rest in His love, joy, and peace.

Stay in this place of rest and let it be a constant in your life.

336. Get out of the boat… and SINK!

Mike Parsons

Video Summary

Restoring First Love

In this new series, as the world awakens to love, grace, joy, peace, and the truth of God’s nature, I will be sharing my journey of rediscovering my identity as God’s child and breaking free from self-imposed limitations. It is time to discover who we truly are and embrace the depth of unconditional love to find genuine connection with God. Are you defined by others or by your past? In the ocean of unconditional love, we discover our true identity and realise that as His beloved children, God is drawing us back into intimate communion with Him.

First love, whether with God or another person, is a captivating experience that consumes our thoughts, leaving us eagerly anticipating the next encounter. First love signifies a prioritisation, placing it above all else in our lives – before family, work, or possessions. If our relationship with God is our top priority, everything else falls into place. First love is our eternal identity, originating in Perichoresis.

God’s pursuit of intimacy with us is like a marriage, symbolising the deep union He desires. This journey is personal, inspiring each of us to embark on our own. Our union with God is not just spiritual; it involves a profound connection of spirit, soul and body, becoming one flesh. Jesus’ promise of preparing a place for us speaks of dwelling with Him presently, not just in the future. This intimacy transcends physical union and gender, restoring our true identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. The process leading to this consummation is like a betrothal.

Intimacy with the Father

As individuals and humanity, we’ve strayed from God’s path, seeking independence, yet He relentlessly pursues us like a good shepherd. His love remains constant and unwavering, demonstrated in Christ. Through the Spirit, we’re adopted as God’s children, heirs with Christ, experiencing profound intimacy with the Father. First love isn’t merely an emotional state; it’s our eternal identity, essential for our destiny. Like the Ephesian church mentioned in Revelation, we may have prioritised duty over intimacy, but God invites us back into that deep, intimate relationship with Him.

Sacrificial love

In Greek, eros represents erotic love, absent in the New Testament; phileo denotes deep liking or friendship, affection and camaraderie; storge reflects natural affection within families and spouses in a healthy marriage; agape, God’s love, is characterised by deliberate action, choosing to love even our enemies, mirroring God’s selflessness. This sacrificial love, evident throughout Scripture, calls us to restore first love for God, ourselves, and others.

My friend Lindy shared that God had been asking her how much she loved herself. That is an important question for us all to ponder.

More than a fleeting emotion

Love is more than a fleeting emotion; it embodies the essence of God and is the most potent force in existence. As Jesus instructed us to love one another as he loved us, we see that true love originates from God and manifests in our actions. This agape love cannot be manufactured independently but springs from our connection to God. It is practical, selfless and unwavering, seeking others’ highest good without expecting anything in return. Love confronts challenges with truth and humility, inspiring kindness and reconciliation, even amidst opposition.

Resting in His love

Ultimately, God’s love encompasses every aspect of our being, forming the bedrock of His kingdom and leading us to experience His presence and purpose fully. Love is described in the Song of Songs as unquenchable flames of fire, stronger than death. It is the ultimate force for good, offering acceptance, affirmation, and worth. God has sung an eternal song of love to us since the dawn of time. To embrace this love, we must surrender completely, casting aside our fears and insecurities to trust in God’s unconditional love. Resting in His love is key.