Remember Your First Love

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Revelation 2:4

 
What is strange about this rebuke is that for the majority of what Christ is saying to the church of Ephesus, it’s quite positive. In fact from what Christ is saying in the beginning of this letter to the Ephesian church are an address of what is pleasing to Christ! Let’s have a look at this in context:

 

“Write to the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus:

“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: ² I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. ³ You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you^[b] and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in^[c] God’s paradise. Revelation 2:1-7

 

At first glance, you’d probably be assuming that this is the kind of church you’d assume is ‘on fire’ for God! It’s the kind of church that you’d probably want to consider joining yourselves! It’s the kind of church that shuns evil, calls out false apostles (or teachers of this modern day) and from verse 3 Christ is affirming their persecutions against the church because of His name and still manages to press on in the toughest of times. But there’s one problem Christ says “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” This is the type of sharp rebuke that requires self-reflection. It’s the type of rebuke that should cause ourselves to examine our hearts, and see where it is we get our motivation from in doing anything in the Lord’s name! But what a sharp rebuke it is, when it is the man in the mirror whom Christ is talking to.

It is so easy to research reformed theology, early church fathers, puritans, presuppositional argumentation and so forth…and to forget the joy that Christ put in your heart the day He opened your eyes to your sin and all that He did on the cross for you. It is so easy to point out false teachers, to press on and endure hardships and yet as Christ Himself says to abandon your first love! We ought to test ourselves, test to see what are motivations are aligned with and repent too if we have abandoned our first love. In the end at the time of everyone’s death is a personal meeting with Christ Himself! And He will examine the hearts of everyone who has ever lived. In the end, it’s only Christ who matters most; it’s only His power to break the bonds of sin that matters most! And it’s that recognition that Christ deserves! Consider all that Christ endured and examine yourselves to see if you have also abandoned the first love. I urge you to repent and to know the depth of what Christ endured for your sake. Pray that God works a mighty joy in you, and press on in the faith with recognition of what He has done upon the cross of Calvary!