This morning was a sobering moment for me as a Christian leader. First, let me provide some biblical perspective.
In Revelations 2:1, Jesus tells the church at Ephesus, “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”
To over-simplify and paraphrase those two verses, Jesus is saying He knew how hard they worked. He knew they studied and were continually learners. The church at Ephesus worked on their craft. They persevered through tough times. They were doctrinally sound. They even ridded wolves who wanted to sneak in and destroy the sheep. They stayed in the game in the midst of a horrific societal culture. He even acknowledged they did not quit in very difficult circumstances. They did A LOT of things very, very well.
Does this possibly sound like you?
But Jesus had one thing against them. And this one thing was not something insignificant. It was very, very significant. In fact, it was creating a significant barrier in their relationship. He said, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” Notice he did not say, “lost your first love.” They abandoned their first love. They made a willful decision to leave it. Just to clarify, this first love is not in order of sequence but in order of priority.
The church as Ephesus prioritized their processes over the person of Jesus. They prioritized their works over the wonder of Christ. They made the primary (Jesus) the secondary and they made the secondary (what they did for Jesus) the primary aim of their life. This is a mistake Christian leaders make all the time. Trust me, I know.
I am currently reading Adam Bryant’s excellent book The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. Each day I have what I call a Minimum Reading Goal in which I must read a certain number of pages from a quality book. This is part of Personal Development Plan.
My wife had to be at church this morning 90 minutes before the service started. Since we always leave together, I would have plenty of time on my hands. Therefore, I was going to take Adam’s book and get in my mandatory reading.
When I arrived at the car to leave I realized I had Adam’s book but…. I did not have my Bible. Think about that. I was going to church and had my business book but I did not have my Bible. At that moment, I realized I would have fit in very well at the church of Ephesus.
I work very hard on my craft. I try to be a continual learner. I try to get smarter every day. I put in the hours. I have the sweat equity. I volunteer at my church. I faithfully serve church leaders. I try to be nice to everyone. Like the church at Ephesus, I do A LOT of things very, very well.
But also like the church at Ephesus, I clearly had forgotten my first love. I realized I had prioritized the process over the person of Jesus. I had mistakingly prioritized learning over His Lordship. By what I resource I was just naturally taking the church this morning, I realized I was craving worldly wisdom more than Godly wisdom. And then I remembered what Jesus also told the church at Ephesus.
He said, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
I went back into my house, got my Bible, and repented. How did I get so off track? How could I abandon, willfully leave, and get distracted from the One with nailed-pierced hands? How did I become so casual with my Christian faith?
May I never make the secondary primary again. May I never love the process more than the person of Jesus again. May I always remain diligent.
Can you relate?