Revelation 2:1-11
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. [1]
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What is striking to me in this passage is what Jesus says to the church in Ephesus about the love they have forsaken. Although he commends their fervor in opposing falseness and wickedness, He finds fault for their failure to maintain the love they had at first. It’s important to note that Jesus holds up both of these. He truly does commend them for opposing wickedness and false teaching. But he would have them do so displaying the love they had at the first.
Love is not incompatible with dedication to truth and virtue. Sometimes these two are separated. For instance, some would say that if I love someone, then it must meant that I approve of all they do and say, and if I disapprove, I must not truly love them. And on the other hand, some would say that if I disapprove of the actions and lifestyles of someone, then I must never show love and warmth to that person.
Both positions are wrong. Jesus calls for the Ephesians to be both love and faithful in opposing that which is wrong and false.
So my prayer is that I may be shaped by the Spirit to be the kind of person Jesus called for the people of the church of Ephesus to be: Dedicated to truth and dedicated to love.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Re 2:1–11). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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