The Loveless Church

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
Revelation 2:2-4

A few years ago there was a British comedy called Keeping Up Appearances. The main character, Hyacinth, wanted so badly to be part of high society, that she would regularly get herself and her husband, Richard, into an embarrassing situation by pretending it was so. She looked good on the outside, but when you examined deeper, trouble brewed within.

The book of Revelation is one of the most popular and neglected books of the Bible. It is scary because many who read it don’t understand the symbols and imagery. To make it simple, there are two things to remember when reading Revelation:

* The focus is on the vision of Jesus. He is the front and center of what this book is all about. He is victorious and so shall we be.
* It fits partly into the genre of “apocalypse.” This genre almost always deals with judgment and end-times themes.

In chapter two, Jesus is instructing the Apostle John to write letters to seven churches. Each one was dealing with issues that required repentance or encouragement. The first one addressed was the church of Ephesus.

From the outside, this was a strong church. They were keeping up appearances. They had been doing the right things and fighting the battles for so long.  It’s possible that some of the older members were getting tired. Perhaps some of the younger members didn’t feel like they could devote the time required to maintain the various ministries. Maybe they didn’t feel qualified. Their devotion to Christ was waning and they were crumbling from the inside out.

This can happen to some of the most faithful and devoted churches, if the focus becomes the ministries of the church rather than the love of Christ. It can also happen just as easily to an individual Christian.

The church of Ephesus was called upon to refocus on Christ. To return to their first love. The works of ministry are a result of loving Jesus, not the other way around. We are called to do the same. Love develops devotion. Devotion develops sharing. Sharing develops ministering to others.

We Christians need to return to our first love. When we do, keeping up appearances no longer brings trouble and trials, but joy and peace in Christ.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for reminding us that to focus on You allows everything else to fall into place.