WHERE IS THE LOVE?
Read Revelation 2:4.
With every strength, there always seems to be a counter-weakness. While the Ephesians were tireless in their efforts to remain holy and doctrinally pure, they missed the all important matter of love. (I find it ironic that yesterday I spoke of these things as being necessary in the church because they were expressions of loving God. Apparently their zeal became a source of pride rather than an expression of love for God. Oh, the dangers of working so hard at something and losing sight of the reason!)
Jesus says they “left their first love.” They walked away. They left it out of their ministry. The Greek word for “left” means it was an intentional act. They didn’t just drift away; they chose to leave it out. Maybe it was a knee-jerk reaction to the intense battle for truth and an increase in the number of false teachers on the circuit. Maybe they feared that too much “touchy-feely” in the ministry might dilute an emphasis on the truth. Maybe they were too hard on those struggling with sin and rather than help them through it, they merely kicked them out. Whatever was the case, they left their first love.
Let me break for a moment and say that when some read “you have left your first love” they think of Christ; that is, they left their first love, Jesus Christ. After all, He is to be our first love above all else. But in the Greek, the word for “first” carries the idea of “at the beginning.” In other words, they left the love they had at the beginning. And certainly the church some 30 years earlier was known for its love (Eph. 1:15-16).
The Ephesian church, perhaps in its effort to remain faithful to the Word in thought and deed, lost sight of their true mission. In their passion for holiness and truth, they did not see that loving others was non-negotiable. Paul said to the Corinthian church — guilty of similar zealousness, but for the gifts of the Spirit — if I “do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:3) Love was not just a ministry alongside teaching and protecting, it was to infiltrate every aspect of ministry. It was the reason for teaching. It was the reason for holiness.
We all have areas in which we are zealous. For some it is studying God’s Word, for some it is serving those in great need, for some it is purging sin from their midst, and still others reaching others with the gospel of Christ. These are all non-negotiables. But the greatest non-negotioable is love. Everything we do must be soaked in love.
What are you zealous for when it comes to your faith in Christ? How is love manifested in your zealousness?