Regaining Lost Passion
Dr. Richard Shropshire - The Barnabas Connection
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.
But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore (a)remember from where you have fallen, and (b)repent and (c)do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. (Revelations 2:1-7)
The church at Ephesus:
Represents the first century church - a church that:
a. had first hand knowledge of and experience with the risen Christ, therefore experienced vibrant worship and significant evangelism
b. also experienced severe persecution, first, localized; later, Empire-wide
Receives the highest commendation of any of the seven churches of Revelation 2-3
Rebuked for "leaving her first love" - getting caught up in the mechanics of building an organization, and thereby losing enthusiasm and energy
Recommended to think back to its origins (a), (b)change direction, and (c)return to the activities and attitudes of its inception
Application to marriage:
". . . have left your first love . . ." - not necessarily referring to a physical leaving or to adultery, but rather to the loss of a sense of connectedness and intimacy (see hand out: "Getting Married versus Being Married")
SO:
". . . remember from where you have fallen . . ." - most couples, married five years or more, have a tendency to develop a "scrapbook" of bad memories, tending to look back and see only those things that went wrong - Jesus advice is to look back to those things that attracted you to one another, those character traits and personality qualities that caused you to want to be married - those traits and qualities are still present in your mate - don't let the Accuser of the Brethren cause you to see only the negative and to ignore the positive.
" . . . repent . . ." - examine your attitudes, actions, schedule priorities to see what is preventing intimacy and connectedness; and decide (act of will, not a response to emotion) to change those attitudes, actions, and schedule priorities
" . . . do the deeds you did at first . . ." - invest time with each other, talk - really talk, let your mate see inside you (be transparent,) be courteous and considerate of each other, plan recreational time together (play)
