The Church Defined预览

The Church’s First Love

Revelation 2:4-5, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” (NKJV)

As the Lord addressed the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 we realize that there were a lot of good qualities about that church. They laboured hard for the work of the Lord, were patient, persevering, they tried and tested false apostles, and they didn’t grow weary in serving the Lord. The only indictment that the Lord held against them was that they had forsaken their first love, and this, the Lord considered a serious flaw. 

The early church exemplified and exhibited this love for the Lord in myriad ways. It was this boundless love they had for the Lord that displayed itself in the way they related to each other. That was the reason why they prayed so much, read the word, preached the gospel, shared their possessions, endured persecution and were even willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus. It was this unmatched love for the Lord that brought the multitudes flocking into the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 24 Jesus predicted to His disciples all the signs that they must look out for, before the end comes, and the Lord returns. Then He told them these important words in Matthew 24:12-13, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (NKJV) 

Paul explains in detail, the condition of people in the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-4, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,…” (NKJV)

This is a crucial time when each one of us as members of the body of Christ, must take a personal check to see where we stand. All of us can recall our love and zeal for the Lord when we first came to know Him. However, if we’ve become caught up with the mundane, given preference to the things of this world, have neglected spending time with God and His word, have permitted ourselves to be overtaken by the allurements of this world and have taken all His mercies for granted, it is time for us to repent and get back to our first love. There’s a word of caution from Jesus in Luke 21:34-35, “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.” (NLT) 

If God is our first love, we will cling on to those things that are dear to Him, and let go of everything that does not please Him. When God is the one we love most, we will certainly give Him priority in our personal lives, our relationships, our values and the way we spend our time. May it not be said of us, that we have forgotten our first love.