But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Rev. 2:4.
The church at Ephesus is largely faithful to Jesus, but it does have a problem. It has "left [its] first love" and has taken that first fateful step down a slope to disaster. No one but Jesus may have been aware of it. Ephesus itself may not have realized what it was doing, at least until the book of Revelation arrived. The first step in spiritual decline are usually quiet ones.
One time I was in Kruger National Park, South Africa. People there can drive along roads occupied by lions, giraffes, elephants, and much more. You could say that the animals roam free in Kruger, while the people find themselves restricted to four-wheeled cages (their cars)! Visitors are expected to spend the night in fenced-in "rest camps" for their safety.
Late one day we were about 15 miles from the next rest camp. We needed to be safely inside by 6:00 in the evening. At the moment we had just stopped at a spot where someone had seen a leopard in the past half hour. When the leopard failed to return, we decided we had better get to camp. As I pulled out of the parking stop I drove over some small bushes. A loud thumping sound came from under the car, louder than small bushes should make, but nothing seemed wrong, so I drove on.
After a few moments later I noticed that the battery gauge had slipped from 16 to 14 (don't ask me what the numbers meant). The car's owner thought that that meant the alternator was no longer charging the battery. Having only a limited stretch of time before the engine would die, we decided to stop at no more water holes but head straight toward the rest camp. The thought of being stranded in the African wilderness at night was not a welcome one.
Can you remember a time when your gas gauge read empty with no gas station in sight? Then you will understand a fraction of the concern that gripped our stomachs as the needle on the battery gauge moved from 14 to 12 to 10. When the gauge reached 8, the fence of the rest camp appeared on the horizon. As we approached the entrance the engine began to stutter. I worked down through the gears, trying to keep the vehicle moving. The engine kept hesitating and finally died 100 feet from the gate. We rolled in with a silent engine and came to a stop at the fuel station just inside the entrance! Our gratitude to God knew no bounds!
It is easy enough to know when our cars break down, but how is it with our spiritual lives? In the easy comfort of a consumer society, it is easy to think that all is spiritually well, when in reality our spiritual batteries have been running down for quite some time. To us the words of Jesus come home with considerable force: "You have left your first love."
Lord, don't hold back. I need to know the truth about myself and receive the remedy only You can give.
The church at Ephesus is largely faithful to Jesus, but it does have a problem. It has "left [its] first love" and has taken that first fateful step down a slope to disaster. No one but Jesus may have been aware of it. Ephesus itself may not have realized what it was doing, at least until the book of Revelation arrived. The first step in spiritual decline are usually quiet ones.
One time I was in Kruger National Park, South Africa. People there can drive along roads occupied by lions, giraffes, elephants, and much more. You could say that the animals roam free in Kruger, while the people find themselves restricted to four-wheeled cages (their cars)! Visitors are expected to spend the night in fenced-in "rest camps" for their safety.
Late one day we were about 15 miles from the next rest camp. We needed to be safely inside by 6:00 in the evening. At the moment we had just stopped at a spot where someone had seen a leopard in the past half hour. When the leopard failed to return, we decided we had better get to camp. As I pulled out of the parking stop I drove over some small bushes. A loud thumping sound came from under the car, louder than small bushes should make, but nothing seemed wrong, so I drove on.
After a few moments later I noticed that the battery gauge had slipped from 16 to 14 (don't ask me what the numbers meant). The car's owner thought that that meant the alternator was no longer charging the battery. Having only a limited stretch of time before the engine would die, we decided to stop at no more water holes but head straight toward the rest camp. The thought of being stranded in the African wilderness at night was not a welcome one.
Can you remember a time when your gas gauge read empty with no gas station in sight? Then you will understand a fraction of the concern that gripped our stomachs as the needle on the battery gauge moved from 14 to 12 to 10. When the gauge reached 8, the fence of the rest camp appeared on the horizon. As we approached the entrance the engine began to stutter. I worked down through the gears, trying to keep the vehicle moving. The engine kept hesitating and finally died 100 feet from the gate. We rolled in with a silent engine and came to a stop at the fuel station just inside the entrance! Our gratitude to God knew no bounds!
It is easy enough to know when our cars break down, but how is it with our spiritual lives? In the easy comfort of a consumer society, it is easy to think that all is spiritually well, when in reality our spiritual batteries have been running down for quite some time. To us the words of Jesus come home with considerable force: "You have left your first love."
Lord, don't hold back. I need to know the truth about myself and receive the remedy only You can give.
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