First Love Forgotten

In my last post, I talked about how I had read a passage from Revelation that resonated with me – up to a point. Jesus was praising the church at Ephesus for their works, labor, and endurance.

But then He turned and criticized them severely for forgetting their first love (Him!). Evidently, this church was doing good works, but their motives were out of whack. As I began to assess my own motives, I realized there was definitely room for improvement!

Your Self Assessment?

After reading my last post, have you assessed your own motives? Can you see yourself and your own actions reflected in those of the Ephesians? Is there doubt in your mind as to whether your motives are pure or not?

Let’s take another look at the criticism Jesus had for the Ephesian church:

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; …

How Does It Apply?

Focusing only on the criticism, we see Jesus referring to the love the Ephesians had at first. He tells them that they have abandoned that first love and fallen far. Have you thought about exactly what that means?

Even more importantly, have you thought about how that might apply to you?

How are we to know if we truly love Jesus above all else? How are we to know if He is our true first love…still? Is there a test we can take that will tell us?

Questions To Ask

Well, I could not find a true love test online (except the one on e-Harmony!), but I do have a couple of questions we can ask ourselves. Take some time to think these through and see what you come up with.

• Is there anything in my life that I would choose over Jesus?
• If I could only hold onto one or the other, which would I keep?
• Most importantly, what is the physical evidence of this preference?
• When I look at my actions, what do they say about my love for Jesus?

Take time to really dig into this thought process.

Let’s Get Practical

I am going to assume this line of questioning is fairly difficult, even too vague, for you to answer with certainty. I understand. We do not see Jesus or interact with Him on a daily basis. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to judge our love for Him in this way.

Let’s get a little more practical. To set the stage for these next questions, let’s take a look at a couple of passages:

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen.
1 John 4:20

If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need—how can God’s love reside in him?
1 John 3:17

More Questions

In light of these verses, let’s ask ourselves a few more questions.

Am I consistently aware of and eager to meet the needs of those around me as I go through my day? Are the needs of the least of my employees or team members just as important to me (or more so) as my leading performers and top managers?

Do I see employees, customers, and vendors more as tools to be used for my business or personal gain or do I see them as opportunities for ministry? What does my heart tell me about this?

When I am making tough decisions about personnel, business policy, or strategy, are my actions more reflective of my love for those being affected or more about the bottom line of the business? [Remember, loving an employee does not mean you don’t make the tough decisions!]

Summary In Simplest Terms

I want to boil it down to the simplest terms I can.

Jesus expects to be our first love. This expectation trumps all of our actions and words. We best show that love for Him by our love for others. Without a love for others, we do not have a true love for Him. In this case, we have abandoned our first love.

Read that paragraph again…it is the crux of this post.

Folks, we simply must see others the way Jesus sees them. These “others” are our employees, team members, customers, as well as vendors and suppliers. We cannot show favoritism in this process – they are ALL our neighbors.

I will leave you with this passage:

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35

Have you forgotten your first love?

What is the evidence for your answer?

What are you going to change today?

Good Self-Assessment

Over the past six months, I have had multiple opportunities to do this very thing. Of course, I was pretty critical of our progress in many areas. In other areas, I felt like we were doing a fairly good job.

According to some friends and customers comments, it appears we are indeed building the “Christian business” reputation that we have worked toward for years. Clearly there are areas for improvement and growth. At the same time, I have been pleased with what I have seen when looking in from the outside.

I have received very positive comments about our chaplain program from employees and their family members. People have come to me with praise for our practice of putting a Bible in every vehicle we sell. Customers thank me often for the up-front and honest selling process we have. They also like the Christian music playing in the background!

Room For Celebration?

You likely have similar examples of what you are doing right. Sure, we all have hiccups and times when we get off course. But, when we take an objective look at where we are versus where we have been, there is room for celebration!

In fact, I was reading a passage recently that kind of parallels my thinking on this subject. As I read along, I felt I could identify with what was being said about another organization in the passage.

Let’s take a look at the passage. See if it resonates with you:

I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:2-3

Does It Resonate?

What do you think? These are the words of Jesus as told to John in the book of Revelation. In this passage, Jesus is describing the church at Ephesus. If these were instead Jesus’ words being used to describe your business, how would you feel?

Would you be proud to hear these words spoken about you or your business? I think many of us would be excited to hear Jesus say these things about us or our businesses. As I read this passage, I clearly drew parallels to our business. I felt pretty good.

That is until I kept reading.

Here is what follows:

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.
Revelation 2:4-5

All For Nothing?

Wow. As I read this, I began to reassess my progress. I began to wonder if all I had just celebrated was for nothing. Am I really doing well or am I fooling myself? My questions came quicker than my answers. You may have experienced something similar.

Here is what I have concluded. Jesus celebrated with the church at Ephesus. He did not just criticize them for abandoning their first love. He praised them for what they were doing well. In fact, he went right back to some praise after this chastising.

We can therefore celebrate without being in trouble. There is nothing wrong with celebrating our progress…as long as we do not begin to think we “have arrived.” We can praise our team for those results which are good.

First Love Abandoned

At the same time, Jesus got extremely serious when He criticized the church at Ephesus for abandoning their first love. He was not pointing out a minor shortcoming. His language was too strong for that.

No, Jesus was questioning their entire motive. He effectively said they were doing a good job, but there motives were all wrong. They were too busy “doing” and not spending enough energy “loving” Him.

Re-Assess

So, now what does your assessment look like? Have you abandoned the first love you had for Jesus when you first gave your life to Him? Have you drifted into a groove of “doing” Christian business and life rather than “being” in love with Him?

In my next posts, we are going to dig a little deeper into this idea of our first love. While it is my nature to take action and “do” something, I think it is critical for us to stop and think about “Why” we are doing it. I hope you will join me.

How was your initial assessment of your business?

Do you see signs of abandoning your first love?

What do you think needs to change?