Do you remember when you first came to the Lord? You were excited and enthusiastic. You had lots and lots of zeal! You loved the good, and you did lots of good works. You hated the bad, and you did not mind fighting evil.
Are you still that way? Did you lose your zeal over time?
Does this sound like you?
- Sunday morning rolls around, and you slip into the back row at the church. You don’t raise your hand to do anything. After all, isn’t it enough that you showed up? You did your part, right?
- When you read the paper or turn on the news, you are quick to do your part to put down the offenders and scoff at the evil around you. People should know better than to break the law, right?
- The preacher is coming for a visit, and you think maybe you need to pull out that big Bible and place it on the coffee table. You try to remember to dust it off.
I think we all have those moments when we think we’ve done our part. We may think about doing more, but we just don’t have the time or energy. It’ll wait.
To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, says these things. I know your works and your labor and your patience, and how you cannot bear those who are evil. And you tried those pretending to be apostles, and are not, and have found them liars. And you have borne, and have patience, and for My name’s sake you have labored and have not fainted. But I have against you that you left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. But you have this, 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 give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:1-7
The church of Ephesus got a lot right. They hated evil. They knew who the pretenders were. They’ve worked hard. Now, however, they have lost their enthusiasm. It’s not enough to hate evil. Jesus said if they did not repent, He’d come and remove their lampstand. The gist of that is that He’d remove the church. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says, “ . . . the threatening here intimates that, if they did not repent, etc., he would unchurch them; they should no longer have a pastor, no longer have the word and sacraments, and no longer have the presence of the Lord Jesus.”
LIFE APPLICATION
Your challenge today is to get back your zeal! Think back to when you first came to know the Lord. What was that like? What did you do? How did you serve? How have you served since?
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Luke 10:2
Remember, it’s not enough to hate evil. We need to be about good works. Pray the Lord will send you into the harvest!