4Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. [simple_tooltip content=’1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’’](Revelation 2:1-7)[/simple_tooltip]
Do you cringe at this passage of Scripture? Most Christians do because they know they don’t love Jesus as they should, and this just reminds them of that. But Jesus wasn’t speaking of returning to how we first loved Him; He was talking about returning to our revelation of how He first loved us. As the apostle John put it, “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Often, preaching is centered on how we should love others. Although this is certainly appropriate, the greatest and most distinguishing characteristic of a true Christian is their love for the brethren. (John 13:35.) But we can’t give away what we haven’t received. Until we have a true revelation of how much God loves us, we can’t genuinely love others. Trying to do so without a vibrant, experiential love within us is like trying to give someone a drink from a well that’s run dry. It can’t be done!
The Christian life is not just hard to live; it’s impossible to live in our own strength. True Christianity is not you and I living for Jesus, but Jesus living through us (Gal. 2:20). Nowhere is this more apparent than in loving other people. The kind of love Jesus commands includes turning the other cheek (Matt. 5:39) and forgiving those who crucify us (Luke 23:34). This kind of love is humanly impossible. We can only live this way by walking in the supernatural love that only comes from God.
Therefore, loving others is the fruit—not the root—of God’s love for you. As you return to the joy of understanding how much God loves you the way you did when you first received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’ll love others more accidentally than you ever have on purpose.
