I am beginning a journey through the book of Revlelation. I am taking my sweet time, savoring the words and letting them seep into my spirit as much as I can. Being human, I will most likely fail some of the time, but that is neither here nor there at this moment. It is in chapter 2 that I began to wonder. This is the letter that is to be sent to the church in Ephesus. This church has quite a strong history. Patient endurance is a key characteristic for them. A small thing this is not. The ability to work and toil, discerning evil and turning away false teachers, is not easy. It is such a big deal that God repeats the endorsement again in verse 3. The but enters here. Despite the strength of their labors and works, despite their lake of growing weary, and despite their doing it all for His name's sake, they have lost the love they had at first.
This is where I began to wonder. What kind of people work so hard and seem to have it together, but have lost their initial love? I wonder if it is the fact that they have lowered their standards. I see this kind of attitude all around me. There is an appearance of religion and righteousness, but the standard seems based on something other than Jesus Christ. Being nice for the sake of ourselves is not Christlike. Praising louder and in a fashion befitting concerts isn't hitting the mark. The thing is, nothing we do hits the mark. That is what sin is: missing the mark. So, even though our heart may be in "the right place," we're aiming lower. I can be nice to those who are nice to me. I can love my enemy from a distance. I can give a tithe without an offering. The death we are called to becomes an unvied for object.
The thing they have lost is their love. Some translations say first love, others the love you had at first. Regardless, the high marks are lowered for the sake of looking good.
I see a lot of patriots, a lot of loyal alma maters, and a lot of charity-eers. They cheer for their teams, their country and their "lesser brethren." That is the easy part. Even I fall into this category of lame humanity. Personally, I want to see a change. I want to be different. My words should be salty and bright. My actions should resound with the glory of God. He wants to be my, our, first love. We find ways around it, though. I am sick of it myself.
God says that he will remove their lampstand if they do not repent. That means they lose their status as a church. They are no longer children of God, which means they never were. Funny how God can take a group of misguided humans and use them for His plans, and yet they remain aiming too low, and not only missing the mark, but missing the point and God in the process.
So this is my wondering. What are your thoughts? The letter has this line in it, a challenge to us: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Let's do it.