“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Revelations 2:4
Dear Ones:
What is the most important aspect of our relationship with God? Is it service? In the book of the Revelation, the Lord Jesus had John send to the church of Ephesus a letter. In that letter, the Lord tells the believers in that church that he knew their works, their labor, their patience and endurance. He acknowledged their zeal to remain true to the truths of the Gospel. And yet He would tell them, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.” (2:5) What are these “first works,” that position and attitude from which the church has fallen? It has to do with love.
In the Old Testament, the greatest of all the commandments, was this: “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deut.6:5) The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I AM NOTHING.” (1 Cor. 13:3) By the words of Moses, and those of Paul, we are lifted up to a higher plain of thought and consideration, to SEE that which is supreme in the heart and mind of God, that which will LAST for eternity. It is the love of God BY the Spirit, in and through us. No amount of zeal, works, effort, or pursuit can in any wise take the place of the love of God in the heart, manifested in the life, for the Father, and for the Son, by the Spirit.
In Luke’s gospel, the story is told of how the Lord Jesus was invited into the home of Mary and Martha. Mary, so drawn to Christ as He spoke, “…sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” (Luke 10:39) Martha, on the other hand became distracted, and under pressure, asked Jesus if He cared that her sister Mary had left her alone to serve. She even told Jesus what to do: “Tell her to help me.” Jesus addresses Martha, certainly very graciously and compassionately by saying: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But ONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will never be taken away from her.” (v.41-42) What is that “good part,” which is everlasting? It is love for the Savior, that devotion and attention to His Person, His word.
The church of Ephesus, pure in doctrine, and zealous to the point of exhaustion, was neglecting the primary thing for which she had been created and redeemed…to LOVE God. What does it mean to love Him? It means tending to the first things, and that is worship. David would write: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Ps. 27:4) For the individual believer this “temple of the Lord” is that specific place of meeting God. Jesus put it like this: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
Dear Father, give us grace to see clearly concerning that which is most important to You, the worship of You and the Lord Jesus, by the Spirit. Make us to be true worshipers of God, in Spirit and truth, beholding the beauty of the Lord, and inquiring in Your temple. We thank and praise Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad