Revelation: The Unveiling Of Jesus ChristShembull

Burn with holy passion for Jesus  

I know all that you’ve done for me—you have worked hard and persevered. I know that you don’t tolerate evil. You have tested those who claimed to be apostles and proved they are not, for they were imposters. I also know how you have bravely endured trials and persecutions because of my name, yet you have not become discouraged. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the passionate love you had for me at the beginning. Think about how far you have fallen! Repent and do the works of love you did at first. I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place of influence if you do not repent. Revelation 2:2–4 The Passion Translation

Love can grow cold, but our hearts must stay burning for the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come to set us on fire and make us messengers of the flame. It’s good to work hard and to remain faithful, but it’s better to burn with holy passion for Jesus. I have to keep my heart next to this blazing fire each day, each moment. Jesus is worthy of it all, and that includes our emotions and our passions. They are part of who we are and were placed inside us when we were formed in our mothers’ wombs. So keep your emotional life yielded to God.

The love we had for Jesus at the beginning is the love that came to us when we became followers of the Lamb. That “beginning love” set us on the right path and ignited our hearts with sacred desires. To come back to that “beginning love” is to cherish all that Jesus has done for us.

But the “beginning love” is also the love Adam and Eve had for their Creator and Friend. In that beginning they loved God and walked with Him and delighted in all that was. They found their joys in Him. So to remember the height from which we (and all mankind) have fallen, is to remember the Garden of Eden and return to the bliss of being in His presence.

This was the message Jesus gave to His church at Ephesus. Amazingly, Ephesus means “desirable,” or “darling.” Even if your love has grown cold and you feel somewhat distant from the One you love, just remember that He calls you desirable, His darling. Every believer, no matter who we are, can take joy in that truth. My love needs to burn, but He still calls me darling.