“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first;” (Revelation 2:4–5a)
When you begin reading the letter to the church in Ephesus, you might think you have a perfect church. There were works and labor, spiritual and congregational activity. In addition, church discipline was extremely important to the brothers and sisters in Ephesus, because they could not tolerate evil. What came in and what went out was examined—the service of elders and overseers evidently functioned flawlessly. Even amid difficulties and opposition because of their faith in the Lord Jesus, they remained steadfast and did not simply collapse.
Wasn’t this church in what is now Turkey also the recipient of the letter to the Ephesians, where we experience a spiritual ascent to the summit and are presented with unimaginable “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3)? Paul had even been able to reveal to the Christians in Ephesus the mystery of the church/assembly, which had been hidden throughout the whole OT (Ephesians 3:9).
But then comes the blemish, just one thing that the Lord had to hold against them: They had left their first love! (v. 4) The first love is your best love, your freshest love for your Savior and Lord. It springs from a burning heart that is interested in nothing other than its Lord and Redeemer.
Leaving the first love doesn’t happen overnight, like losing your wedding ring. No, it requires deliberate activity on our part. We allow it—perhaps sometimes unconsciously—that other things receive the first love. Then our hobbies, our job, our career, our studies, our garden, or whatever else, may become more important than our relationship with the Lord Jesus.
So you can be active, perform works of faith, serve, preach, etc., without the heart being involved. What is possible for you and me personally can also affect entire churches. If that is the case, then over time everything becomes routine and form—the love among believers cools and, in the long run, is replaced by hardness and lovelessness.
But you know, God does not consider it insignificant when we have left our “first love,” and our heart no longer burns for Him. He wants to win you and me back completely for Himself, without “ifs and buts.”
Repentance is necessary for that! A change of mind and a return in our thoughts to the point when we lost sight of the Lord (v. 5). Only in this way can we return to the freshness of the first love and the first works of faith. Ask the Lord Jesus to give you clarity about your current spiritual condition, to show you where you stand, and then repent so that He can rekindle your love. Even as entire churches, we should repent before the Lord again and again.
Comments (0)
No comments yet.