I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

These words from Jesus encourage the church in Ephesus to return to the first love they had for God when they first came to Jesus. It is possible to persevere and endure suffering and persecution in the name of Jesus, but still be in a place where one has left that first love and passion for God.

To repent and do the things we did when we first came to Jesus, means to have that first love and be moved by the heart of God so that our actions spring from a heart that’s in love with Jesus and seeks to please Him in everything we do and say. Living for Jesus is a relationship that is always growing and compels us to lay our lives down for Him and for the sake of sharing the gospel to those who are in need of salvation. There's the suggestion in these verses that if we don't keep that first love passion for Him, then we will forfeit the privilege of being an effective light for Him.

These words from Jesus inspire me to have that moment by moment relationship with Him that moves me to a simple and yet powerful passion for God’s heart in all things. This world can pull me in all sorts of directions, and it’s always good to keep coming back to Him and allow the Lord to give me heaven’s perspective on life.

There is a cost involved in living for Jesus wholeheartedly. There’s sacrifice in laying down my own selfish interests in order to please the heart of God through serving Him and the people He’s placed in my life. This first love is the proper motivational fuel that keeps my heart pure and single-hearted in living for the Savior.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for touching my heart today with your love. Fill me with your Spirit and help me to keep returning to You in attitude and in action so that my first love is refreshed and renewed in your presence. Change my heart O God, make it ever true, change my heart O God, may I be like You. You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me, this is what I pray. Change my heart O God, make it ever true. Change my heart O God, may I be like You.