Leaving Your First Love
By George Stroh
January 23, 2012
But I have this against you, that you you have left your first love. (Revelation 2:4)
In His letter to the Church in Ephesus, The Lord Jesus Christ said "you have left your first love". This local Church did maintain their Christian orthodoxy, worked hard in serving others in the name of Christ and by most outward measures seemed to be a solid, healthy Church. But Christ, who knows our inner thoughts and true motives, determined that their love for Him had grown cold.
This Church was going through the motions. The things they said and did seemed good to them, but they were slowly falling away and being conformed to a humanistic, evil world rather than being transformed to that which is good and acceptable and perfect before God (Romans 12:1-2). The allure of this world-- it's godless philosophies, it's entertainment, and it's sensual pleasures have always been attractive and seductive, sometimes even to Christians; For all that is in the world, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:16)
Today we are again living in a time in history where there is great spiritual apostasy (a falling away). Unfortunately, the Church in Ephesus is representative of many local Churches in our day who have to one degree or another left their first love. Like the Church in Ephesus, they have their religious orthodoxy, but have forgotten the foremost commandment; Jesus answered, "The foremost is Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:29-30)
If we have left or are in the process of leaving our first love, our merciful Lord, who has been patient with us, now clearly warns us that His patience with our apostasy will one day end; "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand (your Church) out of it's place--unless you repent." (Revelation 2:4-5)
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches..." (Revelation 2:7) Maranatha!
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