First Love: Choosing to Love First (Episode 8)
Devotional Thoughts from Revelation 2
However, I ask, what has happened to your first love?
(Revelation 2:6, First Love Paraphrase)
This is Episode 8 of my devotional series on Ephesians from my book “First Love: A Deeper Understanding of Church from the Book of Ephesians.” This final episode features devotional thoughts on the letter addressed to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2 along with my paraphrase of the text.
Jesus’ Message to the Church
John, the only living member of Jesus’ twelve, served as an elder to Ephesus and the churches in that region that we today call Western Turkey. After being exiled to the island of Patmos, John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” recognized the Author:
White dazzling clothes
Burning eyes
Glowing skin
Blazing face
Stars collected in his hands
Voice thundering like a waterfall
Commands proceeding from a sword-shaped mouth.
John feinted at Jesus’ feet.
(Revelation 1:13-16, First Love Paraphrase)
Jesus revealed himself to John to deliver a message to the seven churches of Asia, starting with the leading city in that region, Ephesus.
Revelation 2:1-7
To the assembly of the Ephesian saints,
The words of the one who holds the stars and walks among the churches:
I commend you! You work hard, fight false teachers, and persevere in my name.
However, I ask, what has happened to your first love?
How could you have fallen so far? You are in grave danger of losing your treasure. There is still time to choose to turn your heart back over to me and live out agapē in response to my love.
If you don’t change now, your fire will go out, the Spirit will leave you.
I know that you have not abandoned everything you believe. You despise the adulterers.
Now is the time to listen to the Spirit. The stakes are high. Paradise and eternal life will reward those who claim this victory.
1. Why Do We Follow Jesus?
Jesus commended the church in Ephesus for their deeds, hard work, and perseverance. They rejected the prevalent false teachings including the Gnostic influence addressed in John’s letters.[1] They didn’t tolerate wicked people, endured hardships for Jesus’ name, and didn’t grow weary… But why?
Does the “why” matter? Why do we follow Jesus? Seriously, ask yourself. Our motivations can never be 100% pure. We love the blessings, believing that we follow the truth, feeling like our lives matter. Is that a good enough “why”?
2. First Love Means “Love First”
They lost the love (agapē) they had at first (principal, most important). Don’t confuse biblical “agapē” for the feeling of “falling in love” (infatuation) described in Hollywood. Although they may have lost their infatuation with God, that wasn’t why Jesus confronted them.
Agapē is not about feeling, but about priority. Love for God was no longer their first priority. God was no longer the one they “Love First.” What can that look like for us?
Our relationship with God and the church becomes a “duty” rather than family
Unwilling to speak truth, we harbor unresolved feelings, resulting in disunity
We’re unable to sing wholeheartedly; our praise is muted
We’re losing the spiritual battle and no longer confessing (and renouncing) our sins
Jesus wanted them to recognize that they had fallen so that they could repent.
Love for God was no longer first in their lives.
If we don’t admit that our first love is gone, how can we ever change?
(First Love)
3. Choose First Love Again
Jesus would not challenge us to do something we can’t do! Although we’ll never again feel that same “honeymoon” feeling we experienced when we first fell in love with God, we can “do the things we did at first.” What did we do when we first fell in love with God? We prioritized our love for God over everything else in our lives. Our actions speak louder than our feelings! Just like a married couple whose love matures “like a fine wine” over time, our love for God can mature as we grow older in Christ.
Words matter. I’m not a fan of telling people that they “NEED TO” do this or that to follow God. As a matter of fact, when others tell me what I need to do in my relationship with God, I don’t respond well. One of my friends would like to say, we “GET TO,” emphasizing how special it is that we have the opportunity to be in this relationship with the God of the universe.
I like to take this line of thought one step further. I “CHOOSE TO” invest in my relationship with God. The outpouring of actions is something I CHOOSE to do because of my love (agapē) for God. Just as a spouse chooses to invest in their marriage or a parent chooses to do whatever it takes to love the child, we choose to pour ourselves into our relationship with God. Not out of duty, with unresolved feelings, half-hearted, or defeated by Satan. We proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, renounce Satan’s footholds in our lives, and embrace our Christian family.
I’ll close this blog with a few paragraphs from the end of my book, First Love:
By the time Jesus addressed the Ephesians in Revelation, they had already lost their first love. He called them back to a choice that he believed they could make – to choose a love response (agapé) and elevate their love for God back to that “first” position. God reminded them that he loved them enough to chase them down, win them over, and share his One and only Son’s inheritance. Jesus, through John, illustrated the certainty of God’s ultimate victory in the Revelation. Jesus’ call to them was not complicated or something they had never done before. He called them to repent and do the things they did at first – to put their love for God first in their lives, above every other love.
As a motivator, Jesus held out the ultimate hope:
To the one who is victorious,
I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
How is your spiritual battle going? Most of us begin with great fervor, but few maintain that passion to keep our love for God “first” over time. I hope that this book has stirred your heart to fight the good fight and finish the race. First Love is not something you can do on your own, but it is something that must be fanned into flame in the dark lonely corners of your prayer closet. God’s plan has always been for the church to be the place where First Love is not only encouraged, but also expected and inspired.
[1] John addressed early forms of Gnosticism in 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.