August 28, 2022 -- Revelation 2:1-7 -- Remember your first love
/“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Revelation 2:1-7 ESV
How condemning these words are, especially at verse 4: “you have abandoned the love you had at first”! Listening to Sinclair Ferguson’s excellent exposition on this passage I was struck by one of his wonderful illustrations. Imagine a man, who claimed to love his fiancé, met her for an hour on a Saturday and he professed his love for her, and then as they were leaving, he said, “this is nice, let’s meet again next week for an hour”! How ridiculous that would be. A man who loves desires to spend as much time as possible with his beloved.
God’s love toward His people is as steady as the pattern of day and night. As surely as the sun rises each day, so surely does He show His love toward His people. We, His people, are ones who are fickle. How much we need words like these, from Jesus, Who walks among His churches—by the way, did you catch that at verse 1? Jesus walks among His people, among His churches?! He is calling you, warning you, to return to the heights of love and the devotion once characterized your dedication to Him.
Today is Sunday. Get to church where the Bible is preached. Open the Bible and delight yourself in the LORD and trust the promise of Psalm 16—”in Your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (verse 11b ESV). Spend time in praying. You will find as you engage in these things something will happen. Like a man spending time with his beloved, you will be restored in true love and devotion to God.
O LORD,
Thou knowest my great unfitness for service,
my present deadness,
my inability to do anything for thy glory,
my distressing coldness of heart.
I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,
and loathe and abhor myself.
I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest
have me do,
for I feel amazingly deserted by thee,
and sense thy presence so little;
Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth,
and the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act but every motion is sin.
Return again with showers of converting grace
to a poor gospel-abusing sinner.
Help my soul to breathe after holiness,
after a constant devotedness to thee,
after growth in grace more abundantly every day.
O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness,
And am ready to sink because I fall short
of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of deliverance comes,
for I cannot lift my soul to thee
if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh.
Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed Friend
in thought and behaviour;
I confide in thee and lean upon thee,
and need thee at all times to assist and lead me.
O that all my distresses and apprehensions
might prove but Christ’s school
to make me fit for greater service
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.
“Need of Grace” Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, 2020, page 180.
https://youtu.be/ihJAJA4ibEs
