Leaving your first love

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. – Revelation 2v4

For all the good that the church at Ephesus did they had a problem. The timelessness of scripture is revealed in that their problem is one that persists to this very day.

No one could call this church weak, insipid, or lazy. No one could possibly say that they were not doing their part. They stood firm. They worked hard. They did not compromise the truth. They did not quit. They patiently endured.

On the other hand something major was missing. They had ‘left their first love’ in doing all of these great works. I am not sure how they did that or what that involved, but here is my take.

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about his ministry and the struggles he and his team were suffering he wrote about what motivated them. ‘The love of Christ constrains us’ he wrote. It was this love that motivated them to keep on going no matter what they faced. They were not motivated by a desire for success or popularity. They were not motivated by prestige or power. They were stirred, compelled, pushed, motivated, and constrained by the love of Christ.

I know from personal experience how easy it is to let something other than the love of Christ motivate me. My motivation can easily switch from the love of Christ to a desire to look good to my supporting churches. I can be motivated by my own desire to succeed. I can be driven by fears of what others might say or think.

When that happens I have left my first love. My first love should be Christ and His love for me and my love for Him should be my motivation. It all starts with ‘we love Him because He first loved us,’ and moves on from there.

What happens when we leave of first love? Sadly it is something that happens to me far too often. We get put out or upset when our schedule or routine is disrupted. Our hearts are turned away from love to frustration even anger when we have to do a little extra. We do it, but it is not out of a heart of love.

Leaving our first love is a dangerous thing, as we will see here in this passage.