Don't Leave Your First Love

A timely warning for the Church from the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation begins on a quiet Sunday morning on a lonely Greek island in the Aegean Sea. 

It sounds peaceful. But it didn’t stay that way very long. 

In a heartbeat, the apostle John found himself confronted with a sudden and overwhelming appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only this wasn’t Jesus as John remembered Him—strolling along the Sea of Galilee, teaching on a hillside, or cradling little children in His arms. This was the all-powerful, eternal Son of the living God, who stepped right out of heaven in great splendor and glory.

John’s first thought was probably, “I’m toast.” He tells us, “I fell at his feet as if I were dead” (Revelation 1:17, NLT).

That’s when Jesus put His right hand on John’s trembling shoulder and said, “Don’t be afraid.” Yes, this was the same Jesus John knew and loved. And He still had work for John to do.

Jesus made John a first-century mailman, giving him seven letters to deliver to seven churches in Asia. And those letters touch all of us to this day. 

In His letter to the church at Ephesus, the Lord said: “I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen” (Revelation 2:4-5).

The church in Ephesus had loved Jesus with great passion. But then as the years went by, maybe not so much. When you start to drift from a love relationship with Christ, you are in the process of backsliding. It may be a slow, subtle motion, but it is a backslide nonetheless. 

Let me give you some quick takeaway points on what loving God is all about.

A person who loves God wants to be with God. 

If you  love the Lord, you want personal communion with Him. It’s just like being married. When you are in love with someone, you look for every excuse to be with that person. I’ve been married for over 48 years and I love to spend time with my wife. We just like being together, and don’t enjoy spending time apart.

In the same way, people who love God want to walk with Him and be with Him through the day. 

A person who loves God loves the things God loves. 

The psalmist says, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Psalm 119:97, NIV).

If you love God, you will love the Bible, the Word of God. You will want to hear the Word, read the Word, and think about the Word through the day, and even on your bed at night. You will love God’s people, His sons and daughters. You will love lost people, who need the Lord. If you love God, you will love what He loves.

A person who loves God will hate what God hates. 

Psalm 97:10 says, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (NLT). God hates sin, and we should do the same. Romans 12:9 says, “Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” But here is the problem: Sometimes we find ourselves fascinated by certain aspects of evil. We are drawn to it, perhaps first as an observer, but later as a participator. Don’t do it!

Run from evil. Don’t flirt with sin. Don’t have tea with the devil. 

A person who loves Christ will love other Christians.

1 John 3:14-15 puts it this way:

“If we love other Christians, it proves that we have been delivered from hell and given eternal life. But a person who doesn’t have love for others is headed for eternal death. Anyone who hates his Christian brother is really a murderer at heart; and you know that no one wanting to murder has eternal life within.”—1 John 3:14-15 (The Living Bible)

You might find yourself in a situation where you’re in church, singing about how much you love God, when someone walks in that you really don’t even like. In fact, you hate that individual. That’s a big problem!

You can’t love God and hate your brother at the same time. Scripture makes that fact abundantly clear.

A person who loves Christ will long for His return.

Shortly before the end of his life, the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

“And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing”—2 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)

Does it ever cross your mind? Do you ever wake up in the morning with the thought, “Today could be the day”? Do you ever crawl into bed at night reminding yourself, “Jesus could come for me before my alarm clock rings in the morning”? 

Do you think about the Rapture of the Church? Do you think about His Second Coming, when He will finally set our world to rights? If you do, it’s an indication that you love Him, and long for His return. 

A person who loves Christ will keep His commandments.

Jesus says in John 14:21, “He that has My commandments and keeps them, He it is that loves me. And He that loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love Him and disclose myself to Him” (NKJV).

In other words, you can’t claim to love God and then go play fast and loose with His commandments.

A Final Warning

Someone might say, “Well, this is an interesting article, but I’m not really all that interested in making changes in my life.”

If that’s the case, you need to pay attention to our Lord’s warning at the end of this letter to Ephesus:

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”—Revelation 2:5

The primary application here is to the church. In the Book of Revelation, a lampstand symbolizes the church. This is a reminder that no single church has a guarantee that it will continue on indefinitely. The Church of Jesus Christ will march on until the end, and Jesus said that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

No individual or government will ever stop the Christ’s church, no matter how hard or how brutally they try. Most individual congregations, however, have a certain lifespan.

I have seen churches—huge, cavernous buildings—once filled with people hungry for the Word of God that now sit empty. Not long ago I was in New York City and saw a church building that had been turned into a night club. That was a place where God used to be worshipped, and now it’s a place where other things are worshipped. In Wales, the home of the great Welsh Revival, you can see old stone churches that are now stuffed full of hay and being used as barns. How sad! 

If a church—any church—neglects God’s Word, stops loving Him as they did at first, stops influencing and impacting lives for Jesus, and begins to compromise on the truth, they are in danger of losing their light in a community. The Lord may remove their lampstand. But when that happens, God raises up another church and another church. And He always will.

Don’t Lose Your Light

If you lose your love for Jesus, it’s only a matter of time until you lose your light. This is true on a personal level as well. You can lose the radiance and beauty of Christ in your life if you continue to compromise and neglect your walk with Jesus Christ. You will no longer be the light that you once were in your school, in your family, at work, or in your neighborhood. 

To another of the seven churches Jesus wrote, “I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone dead” (Revelation 3:1, The Message). 

When the love for Jesus fades away…then the light is removed. The reputation might be last to go, but it eventually fades as well. 

The good news is this: It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus gives us the opportunity to return to Him with a full heart, and experience full restoration. That process can start today.