People say you never forget your first love…and since Kelly is the only woman I have ever loved, I guess for me that’s true (bonus husband points!!).
The Bible, however, warns us otherwise—“you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev 2:4). Speaking to the church in Ephesus, Jesus Christ reveals this criticism of the church: They have forgotten their “first love.” And, this warning is not just for them, but for all of us.
“First love” can, of course, mean different things, and if we are to take the warning to heart, we should make sure we understand what Jesus is concerned about. “First” quickly evokes the idea of “earliest-in-time.” Our “first love” is the original or initial love we ever had; the love that came first in time. Here, Jesus would be criticizing the church for drifting from their earlier expression or experience of love. Given our own fickle embrace of love in this world, one can easily appreciate what Jesus has in mind here. Early in your faith walk, there might have been times where you felt passionately about Christ, eager and dedicated to Him in every way. And then, life happens, and that passion cools, and suddenly, Jesus’s criticism is totally appropriate. We so often “abandon the love we had at first.”
However, “first” can also mean “priority.” Our “first love,” then, is the love we hold above all else, the most important, central thing we love. When challenged by the Pharisees to state the greatest commandment in God’s Law, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God… this is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matt 22:37-38). The first commandment is to love God, not first-in-time, but first-in-priority, in importance. Anything that takes God’s place as first importance, is an abandonment of our “first love.”
When Jesus offers this critique to the Church, that it has abandoned its first love, His concern could either be that over time the Church’s dedication and passion has diminished, or that the Church has misdirected its passion and dedication. Either is possible, and, frankly, both seem to afflict God’s people. Frequently, the passage of time can dull the ardor of our passion for the Lord; when we fail to dwell upon His mercies, it is easy to take them for granted, and eventually, for them to lose their impact upon our lives. Over time, our love of the Lord diminishes. On the other hand, idolatry is a constant terror for God’s people; it is easy for our religious fervor to become misplaced. Things of lesser importance become dominant in our thinking and our focus. In no time, our priority functionally changes from God to something else, anything else.
I suspect either way you take Christ’s warning to the Church—either a diminished passion or a misplaced ardor—the challenge comes home: Have we abandoned our first love? What evidence do we have that this has (or has not) happened here at Hebron, in our own lives? And, how do we reclaim that first love?
Come join us in worship on Sunday as we explore this text and these questions!
Read Revelation 2:1-7.
1. “Angel” in verse 1, can mean “messenger” or “spirit.” How might the term be used in this context?
2. How is Jesus described in verse 1? Remember that this description is taken from chapter 1. What all is implied by this visual image?
3. Jesus initially commends the church in Ephesus. He identifies certain things in verses 2-3 that He applauds. What are they, and how might they look for our church?
4. Given the two different ways “first love” can be understood as described above, which is the most natural reading in verse 4?
5. Verse 5 prescribes the antidote to the disease of “abandoning our first love.” What does Jesus prescribe? What steps are we to take to reclaim our first love?
6. Jesus issues a warning (vs. 5) with His criticism (vs. 4). What would it look like to have the lampstand removed? What might Jesus be warning His people about?
7. What is the essence of the promise for faithfulness that Jesus describes in verse 7? Why is this imagery used here? And, how does that connect to the initial description of Jesus in verse 1?
