[What the Spirit Says] Letter to EphesusSýnishorn

Remember Your First Love

The description that begins the letter to the church in Ephesus speaks to Jesus’ superiority. He holds the seven stars in His hands. He holds all created things and beings, all things physical and spiritual. He is powerful and mighty. He walks among the seven golden lampstands, the churches that shine light into the darkness.

Jesus commends the church for its endurance, discernment, and intolerance of evildoers. Yet the church has left its first love, grown cold, and lost its zeal. At the time, Ephesus was a famous city of the ancient world, with an equally famous church. They had some incredible teachers. Paul ministered in Ephesus for at least three years (Acts 19:1–10). Aquila and Priscilla served there and discipled Apollos (Acts 18:24–28). Timothy, Paul’s associate, also worked in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). According to church tradition, the apostle John also ministered there.

Ephesus also had much darkness; it was in need of great light. The city had a notable temple to Diana, or Artemis, a fertility goddess worshiped with immoral sex. Her temple was one of the seven wonders of the world: 60 feet tall, made of marble, with 127 pillars, and filled with sculptures. Though Ephesus was not the capital city, it was powerful, with incredible influence and affluence. Tragically, it was also a stronghold of Satan and sorcery (Acts 19:19). Ephesus was rife with promiscuity, perversion, idol worship, compromise, and witchcraft.

Jesus commends the church in Ephesus, but the posture of their hearts grieved Him. Jesus didn’t say the church in Ephesus had lost their first love but that they had left it—language matters. Losing and leaving are two different things. When you lose something, you don’t know where it is. When you leave something, it’s a choice. Christians are told to love God and love one another. The two loves go together. You cannot say you love God and not love His family. You can’t really love His family without loving Him first.

Remember your first love. Remember what it was like when you first met Jesus? Remember those early moments in His presence? Remember the joy, the zeal, the wonder? He created you. He has such an incredible plan for your life. Spend time with Him. He is always near.

Jesus, help me remember my first love. Rekindle my passion for You with a vision of Your majesty, grace, and mercy.