Revelation 2:3 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.
3 καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις καὶ ἐβάστασας διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες. 4 ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες.
I recently heard a fantastic sermon on this passage that really cut me to the heart. The church at Ephesus was basically a model church. Note that Christ compliments them in verse 3. However, they had a problem. They forgot the love that they had at first.
What a stinging rebuke to a seminarian like me! I remember the love I had for Christ when I started seminary. Frankly, it went through some serious ebbs during my seminary career. I have recently felt the fires rekindled, but it is not an easy journey. It is so much easier to keep it hot then to try to reignite it. It is so easy to let the cares of day-to-day life as a student, husband, father, and employee pour water on the coals.
The good news is that, like the fire Pilgrim saw, Christ stands in another room adding fuel to the fire. He will never let the fire completely die for His saints. That is a huge comfort to me, but I also know that I cannot quench the fire either. I need to keep enjoying fellowship with Him.
I encourage you to keep fueling the fire if you are white-hot for the Lord right now. And if you're going through a season where the wick seems to only be smoking without a trace of orange, remember the love you had at first. Christ will get the fire going again.
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