Renewing Our Love For Christ

Renewing Our Love for Christ

Women In Ephesus

Read: Revelation 2:1-7

We can imagine the women waiting eagerly for the apostle John’s letter to be read. Through a vision, John had been given a specific message for each of the seven churches in Asia. This precious letter contained words from the Lord Jesus Christ directed to their group of believers. The women must have felt a warm glow as the letter opened with praise for their church. Jesus acknowledged their hard work and their patient endurance through hardships. They had resisted sexual sin in a city famous for immoral practices connected with worship of the goddess Artemis. They had exposed the lies of false prophets.

At first it sounded as if the church at Ephesus was doing everything right. But then Jesus exposed their serious flaw—“You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” (Revelation 2:4). The Ephesian believers had been so caught up in doing the right things that their passion for Christ had cooled. They were motivated by a sense of duty rather than fervent devotion to Christ. He urged them to remember how they had felt when they first met him and to regain the enthusiasm they felt then.

The warning to the church at Ephesus gets to the heart of true Christianity. Many religions emphasize works, but Christianity is based on a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Sound doctrine and service for God are vital, but we can get so caught up in Bible knowledge and activities that a legalistic attitude replaces our desire to simply be with him. Sometimes we need to stop and remember why we love God and how we felt when we first understood his sacrifice. When he lived on earth, Jesus’ harshest criticisms were of people who were religious but not in love with God. If we’ve left our first love, we need to do whatever it takes to get back to it.

I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Revelation 2:4 (NASB)