Farmville Enterprise January 25, 2017
In the second and third chapters of Revelation Paul relays encouragement and correction from Jesus Christ to seven churches in Asia Minor. The first church addressed was the one in Ephesus. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:2-5)
What do you remember about your first love, if you had one? How did you act in her/his presence and what did you do when you were not in each other’s company? Most of us made a priority of spending time together; we made ourselves available. We often were happy to make sacrifices for the object of our affection and did not mind doing it. Perhaps we were glad to go to social, musical, or sporting events that were not high on our list of things-to-do, in order to please our beloved. How much time did you spend pondering her/his good qualities when you were not together? Did certain songs remind you of how wonderful that person was?
The interesting thing about this passage in Revelation is that the Ephesian Christians were doing so many things right. They worked hard and performed good deeds; they endured hardships and kept going. The problem was that their hearts were not in it like they were at the beginning. They no longer had their original passion for God. Obviously, as pointed out by Jesus, this was a big problem.
How is your love for God? What are things that you can do to fan it into flames? Reading the Psalms and listening to worship music are two things that help me consider how great and glorious is our God. One particularly helpful song is called “Overwhelmed” by Big Daddy Weave. The official music video on YouTube, shot in Tanzania, is quite inspiring. We can relate to the lyrics. “I delight myself in you. In the glory of your presence I’m overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed by you. God, I run into your arms, unashamed because of mercy. I’m overwhelmed by you.”
celiastone 