Revelation 2: 2 & 4
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
John writes to the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
When Doing Good Isn’t Good Enough
In the second chapter of Revelation, we meet the first of 7 churches that Jesus gives as examples of what the body of Christ should or should not be like. The words in today’s scripture reading were spoken of the church and Ephesus, a church that was planted by the Apostle Paul. The book of Ephesians, a masterpiece of spiritual warfare, was written to this church. Today’s verses tell us that all was not well with the church at Ephesus. Sure, they did good things. But this is the scary part: When it comes to the things of God, “doing good” is not good enough.
What the church at Ephesus did do, they did very well: They didn’t like wickedness and didn’t let false teachers hang around in their church. They fought the good fight. Jesus said they “persevered” and “endured hardships,” for His glory, not their own. As the righteous Judge, Jesus commended them for all the good they did.
But, because Jesus is a loving Judge, He chastised them for what they were not doing. They had “forsaken the love” they “had at first.” Many Christians today have the same story. We start off on fire for the Lord, and slowly the things we started off doing in love are replaced by a fervency for formality. The core love we had for Jesus starts to lose its heat, and our love grows cold.
When we let go of our deep love for the Lord, we lose sight of Him, and begin to lose the cleansing benefit that comes from living in His presence. This is a great loss, because in God’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). When our love for God goes cold, we cease to obey the first and greatest commandment, which is to: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Our love for humanity will likewise cease to exist, because it is only through the love of God that we are able to love anyone, including ourselves.
Jesus told the church of Ephesus: “Consider how far you have fallen.” When the Savior tells you that you’ve fallen far, the distance between where you are and where God wants you is vast. The good news, is you don’t have to let your love of God grow cold.
Brothers and sisters, it is time to take inventory. Have you let go of your love for the Lord? Are you enduring much suffering faithfully, but inwardly growing colder in your passion for our Savior? If so, “consider how far you have fallen.” The fate of the fallen is severe. Jesus told the church at Ephesus, that if they did not repent and return to their first love, He would take away their candlestick (lampstand). Remember God’s word is a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119:105). Without the light of the word to guide us, darkness and evil will shroud and haunt every step we take in life.
The cure for a heart that is grown cold towards God is simple: Repent. Draw near unto God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). May the Spirit of the Living God fall afresh within your hearts today.
May these words educate and comfort you today. Until we meet again: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Your friend in Christ,
-Verneda
Twitter handle: @vlights
© 2013 Verneda Lights. All Rights Reserved.
Updated March 5, 2015
