Read Revelation 2.
The church in Ephesus got a lot of attention in the New Testament era. We see one evidence of that here, right at the beginning of Revelation 2. It was the recipient of the first of the letters to the seven churches.
Jesus had many commendable things to say about the church in Ephesus. They worked hard (v. 2a), persevered through hardships for the name of Christ (v. 2c, 3), and even repudiated false teachers (v. 2). This last one is significant since that was an issue Paul talked about in this church in 1 and 2 Timothy.
But, despite their hard work, perseverance, and doctrinal purity for Christ, they had “forsaken the love” they “had at first.” This doesn’t mean that they lost all love for Christ; the fact that Jesus had just said that they “endured hardships for my name” in verse 3 shows that they were still devoted to him. But their enthusiasm for Christ had cooled. They remained orthodox and faithful but didn’t have the passion for Christ that they once had.
This happens to many churches and can happen to any of us believers, too. What do we do about it? “Repent” Jesus said in verse 5b. In other words, change your mind. Stop being satisfied with faithfulness to Christ and choose instead to remember how amazing his grace really is. Once their minds have changed in repentance, Jesus commanded them to “do the things you did at first.” Things like meeting together often to talk about God and pray, sharing Christ with others, singing and making “music from your heart to the Lord” (v. 19c).
Look back on your walk with God. Has your love cooled off? Do you find reading his word, prayer, coming to church, and other activities that once excited you to be more like chores? Change your mind! Remember what it was like when Christ was your passion, then immerse yourself in the things that fueled that passion. May God be pleased to use those means of grace to re-ignite your love and mine for our Lord.
