You have left your first love, a rebuke from Christ that highlights a loss of deep, heartfelt devotion among the Ephesian church. Despite their steadfast labor, fight against evil, and guard against false teachers, they lack the passionate, God-centered love they once held. Christ accuses them of settling for a mechanical approach, lacking the initial zeal that marked their early faith. Christ offers a remedy to the Ephesians, beginning with a call to remember from where they have fallen. He urges them to compare their current love with their former, first love, recalling the goodness they once experienced and embracing again their initial, unconditional zeal. He further exhorts them to repent and do the first works, recognizing and correcting their errors by returning to a better state of mind, one filled with the peace and grace of God that motivates service to Him and man. This first love, referred to as protos agape, is more than mere affection; it is an action. The first works a Christian performs stem from a sincere and zealous desire to serve God by serving man, without thought of selfish desires for reward or recognition. By eliminating such desires, a Christian allows God's nature to motivate him, ensuring that the work accomplished is without pretense and pleasing to both God and the recipient. Christ threatens to remove the Ephesian church's lampstand, a warning of expulsion from the fellowship of the Body of Christ, to provoke a heightened sense of urgency to remember and repent while there is still time. Yet, He ends with a hopeful promise: to him who overcomes, He will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

In His letter to the Ephesian church, Christ rebuked them, declaring that they had left their first love. This first love, inferred from other statements in God's Word, represents the foremost love, an unconditional devotion to God as the first and great responsibility. This love enables a deep connection to God's law and to one another. Initially, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the early church experienced an enthusiastic love for God and an unconditional love for each other. However, the spiritual condition of the Ephesian church deteriorated over time. False teachers infiltrated the fellowship, leading many astray, and disputes caused division. The loving fellowship of earlier years began to wane as many drifted away from their initial devotion. This decline in spirituality was not unique to Ephesus; other first-century churches also struggled with diminishing faith, growing strife, and a neglect of their salvation. Christ warned that when faith falters, the first love soon follows, as seen in His admonitions to other churches like Sardis and Laodicea about their faltering spiritual state.

Christ addresses the church at Ephesus, highlighting their loss of first love, the ardent desire to please God, amidst mounting trials and persecutions. He notes that their focus had shifted to the problems and events around them, allowing strife, mistrust, and suspicion to take hold. First love is the purest kind of spiritual love, demonstrating a heart completely given to God. True love of God always promotes love of the brethren and love toward fellow man. Christ instructs the Ephesians to remember from where they have fallen, to repent, and to do the works they did when they had their first love. He warns that failure to follow through will result in Him coming quickly to remove their lampstand from its place. Individually, we must compare our present attitudes, efforts, zeal, and love to what they were at our first conversion. When first called, we expressed our first love by diligently obeying all we learned, studying, fasting, praying, and meditating regularly. We stood up for the Sabbath, tithed carefully, and thrilled at the holy days. We hungered for God's Word, had faith in the ministers sent by God, and worked to overcome every sin, not wanting to disappoint Him. Our first love was a wonderful devotion and dedication to God, manifested by zealously bending every effort to conform to His will. This love came upon us because God opened our minds and revealed Himself, filling us with awe and a vision of being members of His Family forever. Though years may have passed and the newness of God's way has worn off, with disappointments from friends, family, and ministers, God commands us to remember those early days and return to them in spirit, attitude, and works. He has not let us down, nor has His purpose changed. We must stir ourselves to rekindle our love for God and the brethren, serving them in humility and kindness. Once regained, this godly love may be more seasoned and mature, combining the zeal of youth with the wisdom of experience, which is exactly what God desires. Remembering our first love is a vital step to throw ourselves on God's mercy and diligently act to reestablish an intimate relationship with Him.