Remember Your 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

The Apostle John was instructed by Jesus to write letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.  The first letter was to the church at Ephesus.  We’ve all heard the question: “Do you want the good news first, or the bad news”?  In this case, John began with the good news which were commendations from Jesus to the church for their good works, labor, patience, and their intolerance of those who committed evil acts.  The bad news was then presented.  Even with all the good they were doing for each other and the community, there was one major thing they had come to neglect and for which Christ rebuked them: they had left their first love.  In their zeal to serve and do good works, they had lost their focus on the One whom they were serving.  The “doing” and “serving”, while commendable and proper, had become more important than worship of the Savior.  I am reminded of Martha and Mary, Jesus’ good friends that lived in Bethany.  He had gone to visit them, and, as most any lady of the house would do, Martha labored busily to prepare food and make Jesus, her friend and guest, comfortable.  Mary was more interested in sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening and taking in His words.  Martha rebuked Mary for not helping her, but Jesus gently rebuked Martha, emphasizing the need for His followers to put Him at the center of their lives and not let their service overshadow their worship of Him (Luke 10:38-42).  What we can receive from Jesus is vastly more valuable than anything we can give Him.

This is sometimes what happens in a Christian’s life as he or she travels down life’s highway of some smooth roads yet also a lot of bumps and potholes.  When a person first receives Christ as his or her Lord and Savior, there is a real feeling of euphoria, knowing that sins are forgiven and heaven is the final destination.  However, it doesn’t take the devil long to start hassling the new Christian, causing him or her doubts, and then throwing out all kinds of roadblocks to confuse and hinder the new believer’s walk with Christ.  Bible study and prayer get pushed aside because of other priorities.  The Christian still loves Jesus, but he or she just doesn’t have time to spend with Him.  On the other hand, the new believers may become overburdened with serving others and doing church work that they neglect the One for whom they are serving.  Being immature in the faith, they may believe that they have to make a serious effort to gain God’s acceptance when they already have it by grace.  What we do for Christ should be out of a heart of love and gratitude.  When Christ is placed on the back burner, the Christian has left his or her first love  However, in the case of a backslidden believer or an entire church that has lost its proper focus, Jesus has a solution.

I guess one could call it a “three-step process”.  The first step is to remember what it was like in the beginning of one’s life in Christ–the happiness, zeal, and love for others that permeated one’s thoughts and actions, the closeness to Jesus and the strength received from Him which gave a boldness to live for and to witness of Him.   For those who are married, think back to the joy of the courtship, the planning for the wedding, the beautiful ceremony in which the bride and groom could not take their eyes off one another, and the honeymoon period when everything was exciting and new.  It was real.  But then life with all of its problems comes, the new fades, and struggles begin.  Our priorities become more about earning a living, paying the bills, and disciplining the children, etc.  The man and wife have little time for each other.  It is the same in our life with Christ.  That is why it is imperative to stop and reflect on our commitments that we made to Christ and to each other.

The second step Jesus said is to repent.  Repentance is not just about being sorry for our sins.  That’s remorse, and being remorseful for one’s sins is the first step in repentance.  But to genuinely repent means to change one’s mind about one’s sin, in effect, coming into agreement with the Lord’s view of one’s sins and then making a conscious decision to turn from those sins trusting God to give one the power to do so.  The third step for the church at Ephesus and for any believer who has lost focus on the One who had formerly held first place in his or her life, is to return Christ to His rightful throne of one’s heart.  Truly blessed is the church or individual who are wise enough to see their own wayward condition and take the necessary steps to renew their hearts and minds and return to their first love.

These three steps weren’t suggestions.  Jesus emphasized the importance of obedience by explaining the consequences of disobedience.  To remove the candlestick from the church at Ephesus meant that Jesus would remove His presence from the church.  It did continue for a while, but eventually entered into the dustbin of history.  The members of the church in Ephesus would not have lost their salvation, but they would have lost their joy and their influence over those they desired to win to Christ.  It matters how we live our lives as followers of Christ.  We just might be the only Jesus that others see.