Quick Note – Revelation 2:5 – Remember Your Past

Revelation 2:4-5 – ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation were seven letters that John was told by Jesus Christ to write to the seven early churches. Each letter was a short note where Christ was reprimanding, reproving, and/or encouraging the church. Each church had a problem(s) that they were struggling with; it could be persecution from enemies, a loss of passion and love for Christ, or false teaching. Whatever the case was, they needed to hear from Jesus, to repent of whatever wrong they had committed, and to renew their relationship and passion for Him.

The first church that was addressed was the church in Ephesus, which had a lot of good things going for it. The Christians there served God through good works, endured persecution and trouble patiently, and even hated false teaching. In anybody’s eyes, the church was doing well. However, one thing that Jesus saw was a problem with the church was that they had lost the love they had for Him at first. They were good at doing the works. They were good at following the rules. However, the passion and love that they had for Christ when they first received Him as Lord and Savior was gone. They were going through the motions well, but the heart was no longer fully there. This is why Jesus told them in vs. 5, remember from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. He wanted them to remember how much they loved Him when they first believed and to return to that love once again.

It can be very easy for those of us who have been Christians for a long time to forget how much we loved Jesus when we first believed. We had the courage to share the Gospel with everyone we knew. We had the passion to read His Word and to spend time with Him in prayer. We had the love for Him and for other disciples of Christ. We longed to be with Him. However, as the years went by, our hearts grew colder. We continued to do the works and to serve Him at church, but our love had waned. We began to go through the motions. So this reprimand is also directed towards us. Remember from where you have fallen. Remember how much you loved Him before. Go back. Repent. Return to His love for you and your love for Him. Renew your passion for Christ today.