Revelation 2:4 - "But this I have against you, that you have left your first love."
When I began my journey on studying the book of Revelation, I had no idea what the Lord was going to show me. Of course, the obvious things like the tribulation and the last days I expected to learn about. Then I came to chapter 2 when the Lord begins writing to the seven churches who really existed in the days that the apostle John was writing this letter.
The first church was the church in Ephesus. This church was a strong witness to the dark city they were planted in. Christ commended them for their diligent work for the gospel, perseverance in trials and their intolerance for sin in the church. But one thing they did lack: A love for the Lord. All their outward service to Him was great, they were evangelizing to the lost and helping those in need, but when it came to their hearts, their love had grown cold for the Lord.
This was a wake up call to me! I can be doing everything I should be doing as a Christian in the service department, but not realizing the fire in my heart has burnt out a long time ago.
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life."
We need to continually be doing a love test on our hearts. I feel like I wake up everyday and carry out all my responsibilities, which I should be doing, but forget to check my heart and my motives for carrying out these tasks.
Then the Lord gives us the command in verse 5, "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."
Have we forgotten the miry clay He has brought us out of? Have we forgotten where we should be if He had not had mercy on us? I know where I should be right now and it's in utter darkness, eternally separated from the presence of God.
Oh Lord, please forgive us for losing our first love. Forgive us for forgetting where You have brought us from, how You have saved us when we were on our way to hell. Give us the burning love for you that we had at first when your Spirit first gave us life. May we not only serve You with good deeds, but also with a heart that loves Christ.
