Revelation 2:1-29
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (v. 4) I’ve read these messages to the churches many times and two stick out for me – this message to Ephesus and the one to the lukewarm church at Laodicea. I always remember this partial verse to Ephesus as “…you have lost (left) your first love…”, an easier quote. As I read this I often think of my “first love” of God, my born-again experience and those early years “in Christ” – how much I was learning daily, weekly, on and on; those early relationships; some early hardships to work through. Yet through it all I feel that my love for God has grown year by year. Still I know that there is so much that I don’t know, that there is a depth of love that I have not yet reached and that I will never know “Him in Whom I have believed” until I see Him in His eternal glory.
My Study Bible noted that for each of the seven churches there is a pattern of commendation, complaint, and correction. It’s good to note that as we read through each of these messages to the churches. It’s also a good word for us today. No doubt, Jesus would commend us for the work we do on His behalf, yet He knows our faults and looks for our repentance daily. He ends each of these seven messages with “To the one who overcomes (conquers)…”. In the end He knows that in Him and through Him we are “overcomers”, that we love Him and that He loves us even more than we can possibly imagine, and that His forgiveness is always present. But not to be taken for granted…!