Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when He told the church of Ephesus that they had lost their first love? This devotion, the first in the First Love series, talks about what can go wrong in our relationship with God.
Nuggets
- On the surface, everything looked like Ephesus was a good, solid church.
- The problem was with church at Ephesus is that they had fallen out of love with Jesus.
To read a devotion in the First Love series, click on the button below.
I have long wondered what Jesus really meant when he told the church at Ephesus that they had lost their first love. I had never taken the time to research and meditate on it. Until now.
Let’s set some things up first.
Let's Put It into Context #1
“I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet” (Rev. 1: 9-10 CSB)
John had a vision while he was in exile on the island of Patmos. Out of that vision came the Book of Revelation.
What John wrote was very symbolic. Okay, a lot of it is downright confusing.
At the beginning, Jesus gave seven “letters” to seven churches of the time. One of them was to the church at Ephesus.
Let's Put It into Context #2
“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands” (Rev. 2: 1 CSB)
Yep, this is the same Ephesus that received the letter that Paul wrote — the one we just took a couple of months looking at extensively. Let’s just do a little recap of Ephesus.
Ephesus was one of the largest cities of the ancient world. Formerly a Greek colony, in Paul’s day it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia (currently Turkey). It was a commercial city, being on several trade routes and having its own harbor.
The city also was home to the temple of Diana and all the pagan culture that went with it. This temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Paul hit a lot of important topics in the Book of Ephesians. Some of them were grace, faith peace, unity, and moral behaviors.
To read a devotion in the Foundations of Salvation series, click on the appropriate button below.
Let's Put It into Context #3
Think back to when we admitted that we were sinners, believed Jesus was our Savior and Redeemer, and confessed God as our Sovereign Lord. How did we feel? Pumped, weren’t we?
I mean, our sins were forgiven. Our future was secured. Our God loves us.
In those first heady days, we spend as much time with God as we could. We read the Bible, we prayed, and we went to church.
When we read the Bible, we gobbled up what we were supposed to do, who we were supposed to be. We worked to do it right.
Beddome described it thus way: “at first there is often a greater warmth of affection, a more operative energy, a greater disposition to make sacrifices and to encounter difficulties, than is displayed in the subsequent parts of life.” That is an accurate statement.
One of the sermons I read used the word cleave. We just talked about that. It means “to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly.”
We latched on to God and did what He told us to do, regardless of our opinions. We let Him have control. And we did it joyfully.
What Ephesus Did Right
“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2: 2-3 CSB)
It’s always good to start off with the good things, isn’t it? In a performance evaluation, we like to hear what we are doing right. If the bad things lead the discussion, we either shut down or sometimes dismiss the whole evaluation, don’t we?
On the surface, everything looked hunky-dory at Ephesus. They looked like a good, solid church.
- They were loyal so they stuck.
- They didn’t compromise and let the worldview creep into their lives.
- They evaluated what they were told to see if the teller was a false teacher. They caught those who were.
- They faced and went through the trials and came out the other side without it wrecking them.
Jesus knows our works. He also knows our innermost being. So He can evaluate whether what we are doing is up to snuff.
Problem. The Ephesians were wearing their Warrior Princess bracelets. They were faking it. But they weren’t making it.
What Went Wrong
“But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2: 4 CSB)
One sentence. One problem. But it was a doozy.
The problem was with church at Ephesus is that they had fallen out of love with Jesus.
But remember. On the outside, they looked fine. They still had their programs going. They still were there every time the church doors were opened.
It wasn’t enough.
What were they doing? Were they just going through the motions? Were they doing it grudgingly, even if they were loyal? Were they compromising with the worldview in their hearts by questioning God’s laws and commandments?
The Ephesians could have been doing things for the wrong reasons. They could have been sliding toward the worldview. Oh, look at we are doing. We don’t need God to do this.
While He gives them attaboys for what they did, He let them know in no uncertain terms that He was displeased. But really, Jesus could have come down a lot harder on them. Instead, we can see the love and grace behind the statement.
Why We Lose the Love
Why do we lose our first love? We can lose our first love gradually. We let the concerns and busyness of this life push in until that is where our focus is. Worse yet is when we actually choose something over God.
Hull made an excellent point. “The loss of the first freshness of spiritual emotion is not necessarily a decline of spiritual love. The early excitement is not strength — true strength comes when it passes into action.” This seems to be where the Ephesians were.
We could lose our first love when we stay milk babies. If we don’t grow into steak adult as we should, we could get discouraged and frustrated. We may also be unrealistic in what a relationship with God actually means.
I may be way off with this, but one of the things that I thought about reading this was the Ephesians were identifying as Pharisees. You know, the religion was more important than the relationship. The ritual is more important than loving others and bringing them to Christ.
That isn’t the relationship God wants. We have to submit. In this dance, He leads — we follow.
Making the Connections
Okay. So, why is it important that we haven’t lost our first love?
Losing our love in our relationship with God is a huge problem. Spurgeon brought up the whole Bride of Christ issue and how serious it was for the bride to fall out of love with the Groom.
Part of the problem is we are used to saying that the honeymoon period ends in a marriage. God does not want that happen with our relationships with Him.
Remember, God wants us all in. He doesn’t want us lukewarm (Rev. 3: 16). He wants true devotion.
Having a damaged relationship with God is going to steal our joy. It is going to open us up for correction.
But how do we know we have lost our first love? We are going to stop here for this devotion and answer that question in the second devotion in the series and talk about how we can apply what we learn to our own relationships with God to get our first love back.
Sovereign God. The worldview tells us in our human relationships that the honeymoon period will end, and then a more complacent relationship will be put it its place. Lord, You have told us that You do not want us to lose that first love. You do not want us to become complacent. Help us to grow not only in grace and knowledge but also in the awe of Your love. Amen.
What do you think?
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