Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Revelation 2:4
These are the words of Christ to the church in Ephesus—the first of seven churches Jesus addresses in Revelation 2-3. These words are actually found in the middle of Jesus’ message for the Ephesian church. And they provide a stark contrast to Jesus’ opening message to this church. Jesus begins by commending the church for their deeds, their hard work, their perseverance, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” These words of affirmation make the next statement rather jarring. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” How is it even possible that a church doing so much good could neglect the most important thing? How do we know it’s the most important thing? Christ, Himself, told us it was in Matthew 22:37 (cf. Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27). When He was asked about the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” These words are set in double quotes on purpose, because Jesus is actually quoting the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:5. And so, the Ephesian believers were neglecting what was most important, not only according to the New Testament, but according to the Old Testament. They were forsaking their first duty—to love God! I can think of few statements Christ could make more devastating than this one. Forsaken our first love? There is only one other instance in the New Testament where the word forsaken is found—and it is in the words of Christ from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This only makes Christ’s charge against the church in Ephesus that much more painful. How could we forsake the very one who allowed Himself to be forsaken for us? Unthinkable! Impossible! The shortened form of this word, forsake, is also found once in the New Testament, in Hebrews 13:5, where God promises, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Again, this only makes the idea of us forsaking Him all the more disturbing. How could we forsake our God, the only One in all of creation who will never forsake us?!? At first blush, I am tempted to think, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” (Think Judas in Matthew 26:25.) But I find that I resonate well with the Ephesians in persevering, enduring hardships, not tolerating wickedness. However, it is too easy for me to minimize time in God’s presence and still feel as though everything’s fine. What Jesus makes clear is that if I am neglecting my love relationship with Him, then everything’s not fine. To the contrary, if I am lacking in that department, then I need to “Repent and do the things you did at first.” What were those things? For me, they include more heartfelt worship, greater passion in communing with God throughout the day, more persistent gratitude for His grace in my life. Jesus says that the way to prevent this tendency to let our first love dwindle is by doing first things. Some might look at this and argue, “What, am I supposed to go through the motions? Is that really going to help?” Actually, Jesus says, “Yes, go through the motions!” It reminds me, years ago, of a conversation I had with a man who had only just come to faith in Christ. Following his conversion, he was growing in leaps and bounds. And he was having a profound impact on his family. It was inspiring. But one day, after a little over a year since his conversion, he came into my office and said, “Dan, I don’t have the passion for Jesus I used to have. I feel like I’m going through the motions in my daily devotions. Maybe I should just stop.” My response to him was simple…don’t stop! Keep doing first things! It’s true, if you want to foster greater love for something, oftentimes the key is to just do it. I have experienced this regarding exercise. I cannot count the number of times I’ve planned a hike, but then I wake up in the morning and find I lack the desire. Yet, if I will actually just do it, just go…I find that the desire shows up—and usually in short order. In the relational sphere, any marriage counselor will say the same thing. You want to grow your love for your spouse? Then do love. Serve, do romantic gestures, go on a date. It’s true, there are times when our feelings might waver—but our walk with Jesus is not ultimately based on feelings, it’s based on faith! More specifically, our walk is based on faith in Him—the One who “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). And so, in those times when we feel weak, isolated from God, discouraged—those are the times when we need to, by faith, repent and keep doing first things. Let us live by faith, actively seeking to keep the main thing the main thing—seeking and serving our First Love.
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
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