The Ephesian church kept doctrinal purity, resisted evil, and stayed busy in service, yet it left its first love, a God-centered devotion to Christ and the brethren, and settled for something more mechanical. Many busy churches today fit the same description. Christ's remedy has three parts: remember from where you have fallen, repent, and do the first works. Remembering calls for sincere self-examination, comparing present love with the former love and recalling the goodness and unconditional zeal of the early years. Repenting means correcting the error and returning to the state of mind most believers know at baptism and initial justification, when God's peace and grace motivate service to Him and to man. This first love, protos agape, is more than affection; it is action. The first works flow from a zealous desire to serve God by serving others, with no thought of reward, recognition, or repayment. This lets God's nature rather than one's own drive the work, so that it is without pretense and pleases both God and the recipient. Losing first love is dangerous because sin corrupts the mind, salvation is at stake, and Satan exploits the distance from God. So Christ threatens to remove the lampstand, expulsion from the fellowship of the Body, to stir urgency to repent while time remains. He closes with the promise that the one who overcomes will eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

First love is the foremost love, from the Greek protos agape in Revelation 2:4. Scripture does not define it explicitly, but it can be inferred from Christ's teaching that the first and great commandment is to love God unconditionally (Matthew 22:36-38; Deuteronomy 6:5). Unconditional love for God is humanity's first and foremost responsibility, and it enables love for God's law and for one another (I John 4:7, 21; 5:2-3). Those who received the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost after Christ's ascension experienced this first love as an enthusiastic love for God and unconditional love for one another (Acts 2:41-47; 4:31-35). The Ephesian church, though doctrinally faithful and resistant to false teachers, left this first love, and Christ rebuked them for it. Paul had foreseen the danger and feared they would neglect their duty to love one another. After his departure, false teachers and men from within brought disputes and division, many drifted away, and loving fellowship waned. Paul charged Timothy to promote love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. The loss of first love was common in the first-century churches. The Galatians focused on the letter of the law rather than love, the Corinthians suffered strife, and Sardis and Laodicea faltered in faith. When faith falters, first love soon follows.

In the spirit of self-examination, we must heed the warning given to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4, where it is said, "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This abandonment, as conveyed in the original Greek, signifies a forsaking of the most important love, the foremost duty to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, as Jesus Christ declared. This primary love is the foundation from which all actions, sacrifices, and zeal must flow; losing sight of it risks losing everything, including Christ's presence, as warned in Revelation 2:5 with the threat to remove their lampstand. The church at Ephesus once exemplified great qualities, such as tireless labor for Christ's name, doctrinal vigilance, and dramatic repentance, yet they drifted from their initial love, a love marked by faith and visible care for the saints, as noted in Ephesians 1:15. This drift, seen over time, can happen to us through weariness, distraction, or complacency, causing us to focus on lesser matters rather than the whole, which is God. We are commanded to remember and repent, to return to that first love with a zealous, single-minded focus, akin to young love, but also to deepen it into a mature, enduring bond, rich with experience, patience, and joy. This first love is reflected in the passionate devotion of our spiritual ancestors, like David, whose soul thirsted for God, Abraham, who trusted God's promises beyond reason, and Ruth, who declared her allegiance to God's people and God Himself. The call in Revelation 2:4-5 is personal, urging each of us to reclaim our desire to please our Father in heaven, to prioritize loving God above all, and to act upon this love with all our heart, soul, and mind, as Christ instructed.

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.