Continue with:Rekindle That First Love!

These ridiculers rebel at the thought of making public declaration of their faith. (Romans 10:10) They have enlisted the support of Christendom's clergy and the aid of news journals and TV stations to spread lying reports about their former associates. Faithful ones soon find that the speech and conduct of these deceivers do not ring true. Like the Ephesians, Christians today "cannot bear bad men," so they disfellowship them from their congregations.

Now, however, as he does with five of the seven congregations, Jesus singles out a serious problem. He says to the Ephesians "Nevertheless, I hold this against you, that you have left the love you had at first." (Revelation 2:4) They should not have failed in this respect, for Paul had written them 35 years earlier referring to God's g"great love with which he loved us," and he had urged them: "Become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love, just as the Christ also loved you." (Ephesians 2:4,; 5:1, 2) Further, Jesus' words should have been inscribed indelible on their hearts: "Jehovah our God is one Jehovah, and you must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength." (Mark 12:29-31) The Ephesians had lost that first love.

Whether we are old-timers or new associates in the congregation, we must guard against losing our first love for Jehovah. How can this loss come about? We could allow attachment to our secular work, the desire to make a lot of money, or the pursuit of pleasure to become the big thing in our lives. Thus we could become fleshly minded rather than spiritually minded. (Romans 8:5-8; 1Timothy 4:8; 6:9, 10) Our love for Jehovah should impel us to correct any such tendencies and to'keep on seeking first God's kingdom and his righteousness,' so as to 'store up for ourselves treasures in heaven."- Matthew 6:19-21, 31-33.

Let our service to Jehovah be motivated always by a deep-seated love for him. Let us have a fervent appreciation for all that Jehovah and Christ have done for us. As John himself wrote later: " The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins." John goes on to tell us: "God is love, and he that remains in love remains in union with God and God remains in union with him." May we never let fade our love for Jehovah, for the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the living Word of God! this love we can express not only in zealous service to God but also by obedience to "this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also."- 1John 4:10, 16, 21; Hebrews 4:12; see also 1Peter 4:8; Colossians 3:10-14; Ephesians 4:15.

Next time: "Do The Former Deeds"