THE SCENARIO: Hardly has lost sight of their first love. You see, it used to be that Hardly’s every move was to imitate their Hero and Lord God Jesus Christ, but nowadays, Hardly has found all manner of heroes that are esteemed higher in their eyes, and it is these new heroes that Hardly looks like more and more with every passing day. It is hardly the sweet fragrance of Christ that exudes from Hardly’s person anymore, but the smell of sundry new heroes that have befuddled Hardly into giving them a place of preeminence by way of their Siren’s lure.
In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:
1. Hardly has a passion for making money, and many of their new heroes are “financiers par excellence.” Hardly also loves sports, all manner of sports, and what heroes of theirs are not financiers are sports figures. It is not as though Hardly simply admired and respected these individuals for their respective prowess; no, in their awe and even to some degree worship of these people, Hardly has begun to embrace their mannerisms, speech, and value systems, which for the most part are anti-Christian. Note that Hardly has made a “bad trade,” as the financial people would say—consider Psa 37:4, Pro 8:17-21. Isn’t this the way it always is for those who “trade Jesus in” for something “better?” Would you agree that it is pretty easy for the mannerisms, speech, and value systems of those we worship to become our own? that is to say, If we worship Jesus, it will be His mannerisms, speech, and values that we will tend to take upon ourselves, if we worship others, it will be theirs. Perhaps it is not a bad idea to stop and evaluate these metrics within us every now and then to see whose—Jesus’ or others’—we are tending to reflect, for if it is not Jesus’, then someone/thing else must be shaping these in us, and thus the chances are pretty good that we are holding this someone/thing else in fairly high esteem—a new first love if you will.
2. Jesus said to the church at Ephesus: ‘…remember from where you have fallen, repent and do the deeds you did at first,’ after mentioning that they had left Him, their first love (Rev 2:4-5). What did Jesus mean by this directive; how exactly does one (church, individual) do this in the context of leaving Him, one’s first love (what is to be remembered; what does He mean by fallen; how does one repent here—what are the deeds involved)? Taking this just a bit further, when Jesus threatens to remove this church’s lampstand in verse five, what does He mean by that? What exactly is this lampstand? Why do you suppose its removal is contingent upon this church’s repentance? What does all this say to us of the gravity of leaving Him, our first love?
3. In the verses that follow, God is making some awesome promises to those who love Him dearly; to those who do not “trade Him in” for someone/thing “better,” like Hardly has, and apparently the church at Ephesus did. Please discuss any three of the passages with an eye to the foolishness attending esteeming anyone/thing else higher than Jehovah, our God (Deu 7:9, 11:13-15, Psa 91:14, Pro 8:17-21, Jhn 14:21, 1Cr 2:9). Would you agree that God has made some awesome promises here to those that steadfastly love Him?
4. Can you find at least one biblical precedent besides the church at Ephesus that involves someone who left God their first love, either an individual, a community, or a nation? Please cite the verse/s; summarize what became of them physically, emotionally, and spiritually; relate whether or not they suffered as a consequence of “trading God in;” did God try to woo them back; If He did try to woo them back, how did He do this (tenderly, roughly; was there sobering discipline involved, etc.); did this individual, or community, or nation ever repeat their folly; did God endeavor to woo them back all over again?
5. Christian friend, have you ever noticed how unsettling life can become when Jesus is relegated down somehow in our lives? Please join us in taking a moment to reflect on those seasons in our lives when Jesus was not our main thrust in living; when He “took a back seat” somehow to other loves in our lives. Speaking for ourselves, these were not pleasant seasons at all (physically, emotionally, spiritually); how about you—how did you fare then?
6. Is Jesus to be loved more than our flesh and blood family? Please defend your answer Scripturally; if yes, please lean on Scripture and explain (what kind of love is this; is it different from human love, if so, how exactly, etc.).
7. Dear Christian friend, who are your heroes? How highly do you value them? Could you look Christ in the eyes and say Lord, you are my all in all; I love and value you more than these (cf. Jhn 21:15-17)? May nothing enter our lives that ratchets Jesus down and out of the place of preeminence in any way in any of our lives. May Jesus Christ ever be our first, yea, our deepest love, in appreciation of who He is; in appreciation of what He has done for us; in the glad engaging of His love for us; for His due exaltation and glory. You…are my number one, great savior God. In the words of your servant David great God, ‘my soul pants for you like the deer pants for the water brooks‘ (Psa 42:1). Amen.