Jesus’ prescription to the church
After pointing out the problem in the church of Ephesus, namely that they had abandoned the love they had at first, Jesus gives them the prescription they need to remedy it. Notice that the first thing He tells the church to do is to remember:
“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first...” Revelation 2:5a
If you’ve come into a saving relationship with God through faith in the finished work of Christ, let me ask you, how would you describe the condition of your relationship with God? Are you growing in your love relationship with God or have you lapsed into just going through the motions of religion? Do you have a passion for God or have you’ve become passive or even apathetic?
If you know that you are not where you once were in your relationship with God, then you need to remember from where you have fallen. That’s the first step that Jesus tells the church of Ephesus to take—a church that allowed their love for God to grow cold.
Remember what it was like when your heart was on fire for God and the things of God. Remember how grateful you were for what Jesus has done for you. Remember the intentional investment you were making in your relationship with God that perhaps you’ve been neglecting now.
Do you pray like you did when your heart was on fire for God? Are you in God’s word on a regular basis? Are you just reading the Word to check a box, or do you take time to mediate, pray and journal about what God is saying to your heart? Are you investing in others to help them grow in the Lord and allowing others to invest in you?
This applies to marriage also. If love has grown cold, remember among other things the intentional investment you were making consciously or unconsciously that you might not be making today.
Christian blogger Kevin Thompson suggest 5 things we can do every day, (things that we probably stopped doing), which will help reconnect us with our spouse:
1. Pray [with and] about the specifics of your spouse’s day. Not only will this remind you of the work of God in your life, it will also require you to know the specifics of your spouse’s day and will make you wonder how their day turned out.
2. Always kiss goodbye and hello. This is a physical and emotional connection, which serves as a reminder of the union between a husband and wife. Make it such a habit that even if you kiss, leave, and return, you kiss again.
3. Call, text, or email at least once a day to check-in. You can update one another on how the day is going. You can discuss any needs for the evening and make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the schedule for the night. [More importantly you are letting your spouse know that you are thinking about them].
4. Have at least 5 minutes of uninterrupted conversation. Whether it be first thing in the morning or the last thing at night, relationships demand conversation. Turn off the television, put down the phone, and talk. [Share words of affirmation.] This might be more difficult with young children, but find a way to make it happen.
5. Hug for at least 30 seconds. Before you leave for work or after you come home or as you go to bed, have an extended physical embrace, which reminds your body, soul, and mind of your deep connection with this other person. Physical touch must be more than just sex. By truly embracing every day, each partner will feel more valued and loved.
If your marriage requires anything, it requires intention. To the extent that both spouses are intentional about keeping the marriage healthy, the marriage will thrive. Apathy will slowly erode a marriage, but intention will cause it to continually grow.” Kevin Thompson
Secondly, Jesus tells the church of Ephesus to repent. Repentance means a change of mind that leads to a change of actions. Nothing is going to change in our relationship with God or others until we change. Stop thinking that everybody else needs to change, including your spouse and start seeking God to change you. And that change starts with a changed mind. Allow God through His Word to daily correct your faulty thinking, and align your heart with His.
“Repentance is not a place we merely visit. Repentance needs to be where we live.” (James Macdonald).
Lastly, Jesus tells the church of Ephesus that has grown cold in their love to “do the works you did at first.” In other words, to return to the acts of love that you did when your hearts were on fire for God.
God created us to experience emotions and feelings. Emotions and feelings can be wonderful. But the problem is that our feelings and emotions are fickle. Someone said that emotions are great followers, but terrible leaders. In other words, we must not be led by our emotions. We should not wait until we feel like praying or reading our bible before we do so.
If an infant child lost its appetite for mama’s milk, surely the infant is not physically well. But the baby still must be fed. Similarly if we don’t have an appetite for the word of God, we are not spiritually well. But we must still get into God’s word so that we can get well.
We must feast on the word to live. And when we do we will come to a place were we will live to feast.
If love for God has diminished, we must return to the first works, whether we feel like it or not, and in time our love for God will be reignited.
The same is true in marriage. I appreciate what Tim Keller wrote about how at times we must decide to love with action whether we feel like it or not:
“In any relationship, there will be frightening spells in which your feelings of love dry up. And when that happens you must remember that the essence of marriage is that it is a covenant, a commitment, a promise of future love. So what do you do? You do the acts of love, despite your lack of feeling. You may not feel tender, sympathetic, and eager to please, but in your actions you must BE tender, understanding, forgiving and helpful. And, if you do that, as time goes on you will not only get through the dry spells, but they will become less frequent and deep, and you will become more constant in your feelings. This is what can happen if you decide to love.” (Timothy J. Keller, The Meaning of Marriage)
What is the condition of your relationship with God? Do you have a relationship with God, which begins by receiving Christ as Savior and Lord? If you do, have you been growing in your love for God or is your love waning? If your love is waning, remember where you once were, repent and return to the acts of love you did at first.
This applies to marriage also. If our love is going to flourish we must do the works we did at first. We must make intentional investments in our marriage to keep the fire from going out. Don’t wait for the feeling. Decide to love. Make the investments and in time the feelings will follow.
https://m.soundcloud.com/mbcchicago-sermons/the-passion-of-marriage
No comments:
Post a Comment