2 ‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 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 I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’ Revelation 2: 2-7

The church of Ephesus did a lot of good things. If we did any of these things, people would praise our faith. They worked hard. They showed perseverance. They did not tolerate wicked people and tested those who claimed to be apostles. They endured hardships for His name and did not grow weary. But despite doing all these amazing things, God holds something against them. “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. If we leave our first love, it doesn’t matter how many so-called great things we do. 

We are guilty of the same things the church in Ephesus did. We get caught up in the act and routine of being a Christian. We work hard. We show perseverance. We call out wicked people and false Christians. We suffer hardships for believing in God. In today’s world, these are the exact things so-called good Christians do. So what went wrong? Why did God chastise the church in Ephesus? They left their first love. 

The first love is Jesus’s redemption. When doing all these acts, it’s easy to forget why we’re doing them, and it’s easy to forget the origin of all our good acts as Christians. If we forget the inception, the root for all the things we do as Christians, God will hold it against us. Now, what does it mean to “leave” His love, His redemption? In everything we do, we must celebrate and commemorate His redemption. 

His redemption includes forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, and eternal hope in God. To put it simply, Jesus forgave our sins, made us righteous in the sight of God, connected us to God, and gave us hope. This is where everything should start! It should start with thankfulness and joy for God giving us this great redemption. And this redemption should be the impetus for every good deed we do, and it should flow through every fabric of our lives. 

So when we are persevering, enduring, calling out false prophets, and working hard, this redemption should be standing prominent. In other words, there is no good deed done without recognition of Jesus’ redemption. We commemorate His redemption by trying to live without sin, trying to live righteously, trying to connect to God, and trying to hope only in God. This is the foundation of our lives as Christians, and the virtuous acts follow in place. There can be no good act without the foundation of His redemption in place! 

“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 I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” Remember where you have fallen? When did it all start going wrong? When did I forget about His redemption and become caught up in the routine of being a Christian without thinking about the source? Did it happen when I got that job? Did it happen when I moved to that new place? Whatever the case, look for the place where you fell and repent! If you don’t repent, God will remove your lampstand. You will be left in darkness. You will not know which way to turn. When God leaves us, we’re lost and in the dark. 

From the church in Ephesus, we learn an important lesson. It doesn’t matter how many great things you do if you have left your first love. If you forget about the merit of His redemption, you might as well call it quits because it’s all for naught. Being thankful for His redemption and commemorating it should be the starting point for everything we do in life. Live without sin. Live righteously. Live connected to God. Live with eternal hope in God. This is our first love. This is the love we should never leave. And if you have left it, find where you have fallen and repent.