Love Lost

It has been a few weeks since the incident occurred in which three boys dowsed another boy with alcohol and set him on fire because the boy prevented his father's bike from being stolen. The boy sustained serious burns over 65% of his body and will have to go through months and months of surgeries and therapy, not to mention a lifetime of scars if he should survive at all. All of this because of a bike. One of the culprits in this hideous attack is only thirteen years old, with the oldest being fifteen years old.

This atrocity is only one of many modern-day scenarios that, at first, shock us. But given enough time and enough of these kinds of happenings, our minds begin to grow numb. What we are experiencing is what the Bible describes as the love of many growing cold. Don't you sense it? Is it me or are we seeing more and more episodes of hate in our time that seem to verify this prophetic statement?

Yes, the love of many is growing cold. But is the church immune? Well, according to the Book of Revelation, the church is not immune to this loss of love. Revelation 2:1-7 tells of the church of Ephesus that existed int he first century AD, but could very well be a church today in the world, in our country, maybe in your own town or city.

At first the church sounds like it really has its act together. The were working hard, persevering under increasing pressures. They would test anyone coming into the church who professed to be men or women of God but were found not to be. They would not tolerate people with evil intent and were not growing tired. They obviously had a great level of faith and hope. But even with all of the good they were doing, with all of the wonderful Christian church programs, there was something wrong...something missing. Jesus tells them, "But, I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

It is not so hard for churches, and us, to let our love grow cold, even when we're seemingly doing all of the right things. For those of you who have been married for a number of years, do you remember the time when you first fell in love with your significant other? Remember how you longed to be with them every moment of the day, when electricity seemed to pass through you each time you touched their hand? How is your love today? Do you still long to be with that person throughout the day? Is there still a spark of ignition each time you hold their hand?

Some couple's love begins strong, but over time, through work schedules, raising children, shuttling them to and from soccer games and flute lessons, even involvement in a church, a drifting in the relationship begins. Sure, many of the activities they find themselves involved in are good ones, but in filling their lives with many activities that, in and of themselves, are not all bad, they begin to see each other less, hold hands a little less often. By the time the kids are off on their own, some of these couples find themselves staring at each other as seeming strangers. Over time they had lost sight of what was most important; their first love.

The same holds true for many churches. They can get caught up in so many seeming good programs, even things like Bible studies, and yet, given enough time, can find themselves slipping further away from the very foundation of all of their business, which is the love of and for God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

All is not lost though. Jesus Himself gives the remedy for those churches that have lost their first love. First, He tells them to "Remember from where you have fallen." In other words, remember when you first fell in love, when that love was at its greatest. Then He tells them to "repent." To repent is to fully understand their mistakes and to make a decision to turn away from those things that caused them to lose that first love and to make the necessary changes (to turn) back to that love. Thirdly, Jesus tells them to "do the first works." In other words, get back to doing all of those things you did when you first fell deeply in love with Him. Sounds like a good remedy for any marriage where love has grown dim.

The good news is that Jesus gives them the plan to get it right. The bad news is for those churches who choose not to remember, repent, and do. For them Jesus says He will "come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place." In other words, the One who "walks in the midst" of the golden lampstands, i.e., the churches, will no longer walk or be among those churches who do not heed His warnings and accept His remedy for a love that has grown cold.

This should serve as a sobering wake up call for many churches today. Have we become so enamored with all of our church programs, missions endeavors, and other activities that we have moved away from our first love, our love for God and for His Son, Jesus? In Matthew 22 Jesus marries two commandments together when asked, "What is the greatest commandment in the law?" In essence, it is to love God and others with all of our being. 1 Corinthians 13 speaks of three things that will remain when everything else has long since waned, that being faith, hope, and love; "But the greatest of these is love." May we never forget the very reason for God sending Hid only Son to us; "For God so loved the world..."