"There he is!"
I looked across the room and saw the general manager of my favorite sports team, the guy who built the roster I love watching. We were both at a fundraiser, and I found my way over during the mingle time. I asked what he loved most about his job. He paused, genuinely thinking it over, then said, "I love watching film. I came into the league as a scout, and now I get to do very little of that work I used to love."
I drove home thinking about his remarks. Pure love sent him into his career, and somewhere along the climb, he got away from what he loved.
I know that feeling. I didn't start following Jesus for a platform or a title. I started because I met someone who loved me before I did anything to earn it. Somewhere between then and now, ministry became my job, filled with sermon prep and staff meetings. I got good at the work. Multiple times, I’ve become distracted from the love that started it.
The church at Ephesus drifted, too. Revelation 2 says they worked hard and endured without growing weary. They seemed like a “healthy church,” but Jesus has one thing against them: they had left their first love.
By contrast, David knew what it meant to keep the one thing first. In Psalm 27:4, he writes, "The one thing I ask of the LORD, the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD's perfection and meditating in his Temple." David is not focused on many things, but one thing. Everything else in David's life was negotiable; his one thing wasn't.
This tension is at the center of Elevation Rhythm's new song "Father's House.” Sung by Violet Knull, the song became her own prayer, naming God himself as the reward, not the things He gives. As she put it, "being called His daughter or son is the gift."
The song opens: “Here is where I come to say I love You. Here is where I come to say I need You.” And from there, the song goes on to make an even bigger claim. It says no one in heaven or on earth compares to God. That's a clear echo of Asaph in Psalm 73:25-26, written after he nearly lost his footing watching wicked people prosper while he did everything right. "Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." Everything else looked more rewarding to Asaph, but he chose God anyway.
The song doesn't stop at tackling comparison. It also invites us to move toward rest. Psalm 84:10 says, "A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked." The sons of Korah wrote powerful words about their intense and exclusive longing for God.
The bridge of “Father’s House” led me to reflect on my own heart. "I don't need a thing, I couldn't ask for more, if I have seen Your face, I've got all I want." Those words can either sound like naive belief or hard-won faith, depending on what's happening in your life when you sing them. There are times when, if I tried to sing them, I’d have been a hypocrite.
But when I listen to those words now, I’m reminded of a powerful verse from an overlooked prophet. Habakkuk wrote the following while Babylon prepared to invade his country. He ends his short book like this: "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD!" Habakkuk 3:17-18 describes an increasingly rare mindset. Everything Habakkuk depended on for survival was gone. But he rejoiced anyway because the thing he needed most remained!
"There he is!" I still think about that night, as I met a man who had built my favorite team, chased the ladder all the way up, and lost the thing that put him on it in the first place. Have you left your first love the same way? Let "Father's House" be your invitation to find out.
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker who loves tacos, matcha, and sneakers. With more than twenty years of ministry experience, he teaches with a blend of Biblical truth, emotional awareness, and the compassion shaped by his own struggles.
Scott’s writing has impacted over ten million readers through trusted platforms such as the YouVersion Bible App, Air1 Radio, and Our Daily Bread. He’s the author of Faith Behind the Song, a 40-day devotional book published in partnership with K-Love Books. Whether speaking on a stage or writing on a page, he offers a steady, empathetic voice that reassures people they are seen, loved, and not beyond God's healing reach. You can sign up to receive his weekly newsletter at ScottSavageLive.com today!
