Winston Churchill is a colossus of history, a prophesied watchman, statesman, warrior, politician, as well as a writer, painter, bricklayer. His life made an impact on civilization.

His words and deeds still inspire people to this very day, and we can glean many important, practical lessons from his life.

At times it can be easier to see God’s hand in a figure whose life was dramatic and consequential. But the truth is, if God has called you now to be a first fruit (John 6:44), He intends for your life to have a far greater impact than Churchill’s ever will! With the destiny of being a king-priest (Revelation 1:6), it is vital that we learn and apply some principle of success from this statesman-warrior.

What was the key to Churchill’s success?

Clementine was the love of Churchill’s life. Without her constant devotion, encouragement and support, he could not have influenced the course of world history. But Clementine was not Churchill’s “first love.”

From a very young age, Churchill fell in love with the British Empire. His passion, imagination and commitment were captured by the Empire. It wasn’t a fascination with power or wealth, but with its mission and purpose. The heroes of the Empire inspired him to a spirit of selfless sacrifice, to be a force of good for all of mankind.

This “first love” that developed in his formative years was essential to success throughout his life. It was the fire that kept him moving forward through trial and hardship, and what inspired his imagination and zeal. This first love built essential thinking patterns that were the foundation of Churchill’s world view, principles and decision making.

As true Christians, our “first love” must be for God and His truth. Our first love must be the God Family Empire. God corrected the first era of the Church, Ephesus, for losing its first love: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:4-5).

God, His family, purpose and mission must be our first passion. It must capture our passion and imagination, and form new thought patterns based on God’s way of love (Matthew 22:36-38), rather than human nature (Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 8:7).

“But what motivated Winston Churchill? What motivated him to devote virtually every minute of his life to fighting for his nation?” writes Gerald Flurry in Winston S. Churchill: The Watchman, “What was it that motivated Winston Churchill to become a great man? Churchill passionately loved the British Empire, more than anything else in his life. He wanted the empire to be part of the natural order of things. Callahan continues: It was “beneficent and an indispensable prop of British power and greatness. Yet his entire political career would be played out in an era of challenge and dissolution for imperial rule.” Every minute of Churchill’s life, every decision and tactic, every new bill, every column and book, stemmed from his devotion to the British Empire!”

Lord Moran, Churchill’s doctor and close confidant, stated: “If Winston has believed in anything at all in the course of his long life, it has been in the British Empire and all that it stands for.’”

As a true Christian, every decision and action must stem from our devotion to the God Family Empire! We must believe in God’s master plan and stand for everything God stands for (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

What is remarkable about Churchill’s life is that his first love grew stronger. He nourished this love for the Empire through each trial and test. It was smaller decisions, everyday pressures, and winning routine battles of principle that prepared Churchill for the battle for civilization.

This love of Empire expanded Churchill’s thinking to see that his daily life was connected to the fate of the British Empire.

This was vitally important because the hardest trials came at the end of his life! At the height of the Battle of Britain when the war hung in the balance, it was this first love, this elemental passion, that fueled his spirit to never surrender, and led to his finest hour. Without this first love, Churchill would have withered under the pressure.

This is also true for us today. It is vitally important that we nourish and strengthen our first love throughout our life. “We must be excited about what we are doing!” writes Mr. Flurry in The Epistles of Peter—A Living Hope, “When someone first comes into God’s Church, often he or she is on fire with ‘first love’—extremely stirred up about God’s truth. We who have been in the Church for some years should not be less excited than those individuals! We should progress from first love, to second love, to the third, fourth and so on! That love should be growing right up to the moment we are born into God’s Family!”

We must continually be measuring our first love and stoke the fires of God’s passion. We must be constantly nourishing and teaching this first love in our young people. In the day-to-day decisions, the routine pressures, the “smaller trials,” we must be looking for ways to grow our love for God, His law, His truth and His government. We must connect our daily life to the fate of the God Family Empire!

Churchill’s life is one of the highlights of the history of the British Empire. Will your life be a highlight of the God Family Empire? God is preparing you to change the world and impact countless generations of humanity. But this dazzling future starts with you, in your own mind. It starts with stoking the fires of your first love.