The Church at Ephesus

The church at Ephesus was a good looking church. Living in the midst of an evil and depraved city, they were working hard and persevering amidst persecution. They had been written to by Paul, and led by Timothy. This looked like a thriving church, a great example to those around them in Asia minor.

Except, Jesus knew different. In his letter to this church, found in Revelation 2, he tells them that they have lost their first love...Him. Ouch! They were working, serving and persevering...but not loving. That should be a great warning to us. We can look good on the outside, but be dead on the inside. We can work and work and work, but fail to love. Everything we do ends up being 'because we have to,' rather than the overflow of our love for Christ. It's not even clear that this church knew they had lost their love, perhaps not since Jesus used John to bring it to their attention in such a direct way.

What do we need to do when we feel our love growing cold? This is a problem for Christians everywhere in every century. Even Paul had to remind Timothy to 'fan into flame the gift of God,' in 2 Timothy 1:6. So what do we do when we feel the flames dying? Jesus tells this church to remember, and repent.

We need to repent. Maybe some world loving sin is clouding our love for Jesus and dampening the flames. Maybe our love is growing cold because we've bought into the lies of sin. A deliberate, faith filled turning from sin is what is prescribed here. This is what our spiritual health needs, to stop believing that sin satisfies, and remember that Jesus satisfies.

Remember, that's the next thing we need to do. Remember the works you did at first. Remember that first rush of faith, that first excitement when you met Jesus, the first buzz when you said no to sin and yes to Him. Remember what that felt like and do it again. Struggling Christian, stay in church, stay in close fellowship with other Christians. Keep reading your Bible, even if it starts out of a sense of obligation rather than faith. The Holy Spirit will breathe on your heart and set it aflame. Remember the astonishing promises that God will love you freely (Hos 14:4). Remember that there is more grace in Christ than sin in us, and that He is glorified not by performance, but dependence.

And what rewards we're promised. Eternal life, eating of the tree of life in paradise. Jesus shows us a reward that makes fighting dead works with love worth every bit of effort. Repent, remember and return, because amazing rewards await you when you do.