The Pastor of the church of Philadelphia received the letter commending the church on so many points. I can imagine the Pastor thinking they were doing so good. But then he hears of the one problem, they had left their first love. That one little detail overshadowed all the other good points so that they actually seem insignicicant.
This is not uncommon for so many today. They feel like they're doing alright, whereas in reality, they're not doing that good. How easy it is to fall into nominality, even in our love for Jesus. When we do this is when we fail.
It's never about all our good works, which are meaningless if not motivatied by love, but it is always about our relationship with Jesus. It's very simple, if we do not have a passionate love for Jesus we are not loving Jesus as we should. Which this indicates a major problem in our relationship with Jesus. If Christ is alive inside of us He will create in us that love which only He can create. If that love is not burning within us there is only one reason, we have turned our gaze from Jesus. We see the end result as it is with the church in Philadelphia, so we must heed the warning and do as Christ warned the church, we must return to our first love.
So, how do we return to our first love? Well we begin by doing what we did in the beginning, we repent from our loveless condition. We accept the truth of the Holy Spirit and we call upon God's mercy to change us, which He will when we repent. We then allow the Holy Spirit to fan the flames of love in our hearts as we spend time with Him in His Word and prayer. We allow what only God can do and that is to revive our hearts. But it all begins by acknowledging what the Spirit of God says to be true.
Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Or are you like so many that think they're not that bad?
Pastor Philip
