Remember and repent or…

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. – Revelation 2v5

It is interesting to note that a church like Ephesus, who stood so firmly for the truth, would have to be told that they have fallen. Even as he closes the section to the church John once again praises them for their stand against the Nicolaitan cult who held to teachings that John hated.

But they had fallen away from their first love. It looks like a love for Christ had been replaced with a love for their strong stand against error. So what is a church like this to do?

The danger was that they would lose their power to be a light in a dark world. They would lose their testimony and their witness because Christ would remove His light from them.

We all know of churches that once stood for truth, loved people, and had a tremendous impact on their communities. They shone forth as a testimony. The church was marked by God centred excitement and they were reaching people around them. But something happened. It seems like the fire has gone out. They are still there, but all the power is gone.

Could it be that they, like Ephesus, forgot their first love and never went back?

“Remember where you were,’ John writes, ‘repent and do those love motivated works that once marked you.’

I suspect that this is a lesson that individuals can apply as well as churches. Don’t stop standing for truth, but let’s look back and make sure that we are also not forgetting our ‘first love.’