Have you lost your first love? Most Christians are probably oblivious to what this even means. It is not something we are necessarily cognizant of yet it is no small thing. That was made clear In Revelation when the Son of Man called the church of Ephesus to task on this very real condition:
Rev 2: 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.
Now that is quite a reprimand! I mean my goodness. He tells them that he knows their toil and patience, that they endure patiently for his name, that their relentless toil is second to none. And that is not good enough? Seriously? Can you work too earnestly for Him?
It seems harsh. They have worked diligently for the kingdom of God and now find themselves being rebuked . . . lacking. But lacking what? What is this love they had at first that they have been accused of abandoning? Is it this?
Luke 10: 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Have we abandoned our love for God? But don’t the works prove our love, our faith? Remember what James said–faith without works is dead. So didn’t Ephesus prove their faith, their love, by their tireless toil?
Well, the answer is yes and no. It’s a slippery slope. Faith and works are two inseparable sides of the same coin (read Faith or Works). One is the fruit of the other . . . works are the spontaneous outgrowth of faith. But works by themselves are not the job. Works without faith, without love, are also dead. Jesus made it clear that that is another real possibility.
Matt 7: 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
I wouldn’t put Ephesus in that category, but it is clear that something has happened that has shifted their priorities. If you remember, when we began as Christians, we simply joyed being in and loving Christ and being loved by Christ. Our burdens were lifted. It was easy, spontaneous. Works were the effortless fruit born on branches just abiding in the vine. But later, things can change. In our zeal for Christ the branches can start to take on a life of their own and we forget who we are and what produces the fruit– the vine.
John 15: 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
We look around us, judge by appearances, and see all the great works others are doing and wonder why our fruit is not up to par. We start to shoulder the load ourselves even though Jesus was clear that He did the lifting. We start to work “for” Christ which is the epitome of ridiculousness. You can’t work “for” Christ as if you were paying Him back “for all He has done for you.” That would be wages due and defeat grace. It doesn’t work like that.
It is easy to fall prey to a work ethic that quenches the Spirit. As soon as we are “born again,” we are inundated with a plethora of advice, books, tapes, sermons, constant exhortations, all of which tell us how to become a better Christian and what we “should be doing” as a child of God. We get twenty one ways on how to become a better Christian, ten ways on how to improve our prayer life, five ways on how to witness, and so on. Often, Christ is hardly mentioned or maybe tagged on the end. But the truth is they are more self-help, more self-improvement than promoting a deeper relationship with our true love–Christ.
An image is created of a fantasy Christian full of power and the Spirit. Everyone except us lives in an Ozzie and Harriet world. Immediately we compare ourselves to this fictional character, we compare ourselves to what others who appear to be blessed are doing, and guess what? We find ourselves lacking. Big time. We don’t pray enough. We don’t read our Bible enough. We don’t witness enough. We rob God of His tithe. We don’t do our fair share in the church. The list goes on.
Just because it doesn’t reflect reality doesn’t stop us from shooting for the moon. Rather than “let” Christ be formed in us (Gal 4:19), we set out to make it happen ourselves, to prove our love. Whether we admit it or not, we have now become more concerned about conforming to the will of others than to the will of Christ.
Before long, keeping up appearances becomes more important than resting in Christ and just letting Him do his work through us, as us. We forget who we are. We forget our first love. We don’t wait on the Lord. We’ll work till Jesus comes. Ready or not.
So, let’s get it back. Let’s return to our first love. Remember how easy it was back then? We just basked in the grace of the Lord. Get back to the basics. Let Him do the works. Present your bodies a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). That is your true spiritual worship. Imitate Christ by doing what He did which was just “letting” the Father do the works. Get your foot of the accelerator. He will do the driving.
John 5: 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Remember who you are in Christ. Just as the Father lived in Christ and did the works, even so does Christ live in you and He does the works. We are simply branches abiding in the vine, vessels containing Him.
Gal 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
It’s that easy.
The Lost Coin by Samuel Hayes Sherwood is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and all other outlets. Find out just how easy it is to abide in Christ. Learn what the mystery of Christ in us is.
