The Big But.

Today I think of the book of Revelation. And I think of chapter 2. John the apostle is speaking to the church of Ephesus. And John goes through a lot of good things about this church. They must have been feeling pretty good about themselves. Listen to this Revelation 2:1-3.

1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Right so this is like when a guy is asking out a girl, and she says well Jehtro you’re a nice guy and your very sweet, my parents love you…. And he holds his breath because he knows what’s coming next. BUT…. Well quite frankly I am in love with a biker named Spike. And this is what the church of Ephesus was bracing for. I know you do some great things and you hate evil… but… and then here comes the “but” in verse 4.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

They lost their first love. What a sad commentary on the church. So how did this happen and how long did it take? Well luckily we have some history on that as well. Ephesus was one of the first churches established after Jesus’ ascension. It was a booming town right on the Mediterranean Sea. And you don’t have to go very far back in your Bibles to find that they didn’t always use to be this way. Listen to what is said about them in Eph 1:15-16.

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

This certainly doesn’t sound like the same church does it? Most smart people have these two texts dated about 30 years apart from one another. So in 30 years this church went from being described as having faith in the Lord to losing their first love? I think there are a lot of churches like this. They have lost their first loves. Do you know why this is? Because WE have lost our first love. Take some time today to reunite with your your Savior.