Who Is Your First Love?

Revelations 2:1-7 (NASB)

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

Devotional:

Here Jesus is speaking to the church of Ephesus.  On one hand He praises the church for their hard work and perseverance.  But then Jesus encourages them to repent.  At some point they lost their first love.  Christ is warning them to return or He will remove the church.  He will remove their “Lampstand.”  Reading through the Old Testament we see where the Israelites time after time fell away, they left their first love.  We can see through the book of Judges as well as through the kings after David.   Eventually Israel bore God’s judgment and was conquered.  The nation was defeat and its people scattered.

Look at your own life.  Can you see where it is that you have left your first love?  Is Jesus your focus, the center of your life?  Reread verses 1-7 again.  Then reflect and compare what is written to your own life.  Paul time and again tells us to run the good race and to persevere.  We are to take up our cross daily.  If we are not careful we can lose our first love and replace it with something of this world.  What is important to you?  Where is your heart?  Jesus says the following in Matthew 6:21 (NASB), “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Where your heart is will determine what your focus is on.  Do you put your focus on God?  Is your love for God central in your life?  If not I encourage you to make God your “first love.”  God needs to be the number one priority in your daily life.