In Revelation 2 there is a little sectionโI would call it a postcardโwhere Jesus is writing to the Ephesian church. It’s noteworthy because something great had happened in Ephesus. There was a generation who had turned to the Lord and were excited about the Word of God. Paul had taught in their midst, going through the Scriptures and uncovering the meaning of the texts.
Acts 19:23-41 describes the impact the gospel had been making in Ephesus. “And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way” (v. 23). “The Way” was the common name for Christianity in those days. The commotion about the Way turned into a riot for an economic reason: craftsmen had been making a huge profit from the silver shrines used to worship the Roman goddess Diana.
As the gospel spread, it caused people to turn away from idols and to the Lord (see v. 26), and these craftsmen were losing money. “So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord” (v. 29). They wanted to throw Paul out of town. What I love about this is that it affirmed Paul’s testimony. There is never a stronger testimony than when one’s critics admit the success of their adversary.
Ephesus once saw great revival, but today you can’t find a Christian church there. In many areas where the gospel once spread, the churches have virtually vanished. Believers in modern day Turkey are only 0.2% of the population. Christian witness is as absent now as it was during the time before Paul.
About forty years after the riot in Acts 19, there were problems (see Revelation 2:2-3). In His message to the Ephesians, Jesus noted their hard work, patience, and discernment against evil and falsehoods, saying that they had “labored for My name’s sake and [had] not become weary” (v. 3). So far, so good.
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (v. 4). They had left their priority of loving God first. As the years went on, the Christian testimony in that city disappeared. Note that Jesus didn’t say, “You have lost your first love.” Because you don’t lose itโyou leave it.
Remember what our Lord said to Martha. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Martha had been busy working. Her work was good, but she needed to balance that work with worshipโto sit at His feet before she got on her feet to go work for Him.
Leaving your first love is seldom a blowout. It’s usually a slow leak, like a car tire. You air it up, and a couple weeks later you’ve got to air it up again. So it is in our priorities with the Lord. We can get distracted gradually and leave slowly. We leave that first love.
I think of it like people falling asleep in church. Honestly, I’m not bothered by sleeping bodies as much as by sleeping hearts. When people only occupy chairs, their bodies are there, but their hearts are far from God.
We have to guard ourselves. Remember God’s warning against “people [who] draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me” (Isaiah 29:13).
If you find yourself drifting away from the Lordโif you’ve left your first loveโreturn. Fall in love with Jesus again. Commit your way to Him and rededicate yourself to Him.
