Remember, therefore, the place from which you have fallen. Repent and do the first works, but if not, I will come to you and remove your lamp from its place, if you do not repent. But you do have this: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Rev. 2:5, 6.
Given Jesus' analysis of the Ephesus church, what counsel would He offer to them? The first thing He says is "remember." In the original Greek the word is a present imperative. This means that they have not forgotten their former level of relationship with God. But the church needs to internalize a sense of growing loss, to be motivated by the fact that they are in decline.
The next thing He tells them to do is to repent. The form of this word is different, reflecting a one-time action. Here He is commanding them to get started. Their repentance is to be a one-time decisive turnaround. While the church is used to remembering, it has forgotten how to repent. It needs a fresh start and to bring its actions in line with its intentions.
Third, He counsels them to do the things that they did at first. This is also something that they must start doing. Revive the earlier circumstances that caused your love to blossom in the first place. Go back in your mind to a time you were truly close to the Lord and renew those thoughts and actions. "Repent and do the first works."
Marriage counselors will tell you that a couple who has fallen out of love needs to go back through the steps that bonded them together in the first place. Nearly every married couple was in love at one time. No matter what is going on between them today, they were once attracted to each other. If that happened before, it can occur again.
A couple that is fighting and angry needs to start over. It can be good to back off sexually and go back to square one in the relationship. Go out on dates--if possible, to the places where your relationship got its start. Rekindle the joy in holding hands, kind words, and gentle attention. Take time off from work, reduce the pressure, and act young again. Restore the bonds that have weakened or broken.
The same principle can apply to spiritual life. If you have fallen out of love with God, go back to the things that bonded you to Him in the first place. Where were you when you first felt His presence? What kinds of things did you do to respond? We don't have to take the initiative in restoring our relationship with God. The gospel tells us that He has already done that. We love God because He first loved us. He is the initiator. Our task is to respond to what He has already done. We love Him because He first loved us.
Lord, I remember the fires of our first love, and I choose to respond to You in the way I have done before.
Given Jesus' analysis of the Ephesus church, what counsel would He offer to them? The first thing He says is "remember." In the original Greek the word is a present imperative. This means that they have not forgotten their former level of relationship with God. But the church needs to internalize a sense of growing loss, to be motivated by the fact that they are in decline.
The next thing He tells them to do is to repent. The form of this word is different, reflecting a one-time action. Here He is commanding them to get started. Their repentance is to be a one-time decisive turnaround. While the church is used to remembering, it has forgotten how to repent. It needs a fresh start and to bring its actions in line with its intentions.
Third, He counsels them to do the things that they did at first. This is also something that they must start doing. Revive the earlier circumstances that caused your love to blossom in the first place. Go back in your mind to a time you were truly close to the Lord and renew those thoughts and actions. "Repent and do the first works."
Marriage counselors will tell you that a couple who has fallen out of love needs to go back through the steps that bonded them together in the first place. Nearly every married couple was in love at one time. No matter what is going on between them today, they were once attracted to each other. If that happened before, it can occur again.
A couple that is fighting and angry needs to start over. It can be good to back off sexually and go back to square one in the relationship. Go out on dates--if possible, to the places where your relationship got its start. Rekindle the joy in holding hands, kind words, and gentle attention. Take time off from work, reduce the pressure, and act young again. Restore the bonds that have weakened or broken.
The same principle can apply to spiritual life. If you have fallen out of love with God, go back to the things that bonded you to Him in the first place. Where were you when you first felt His presence? What kinds of things did you do to respond? We don't have to take the initiative in restoring our relationship with God. The gospel tells us that He has already done that. We love God because He first loved us. He is the initiator. Our task is to respond to what He has already done. We love Him because He first loved us.
Lord, I remember the fires of our first love, and I choose to respond to You in the way I have done before.
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