"You Have Left Your First Love"

We just saw that the Ephesians endured in Jesus, so the "love" they have left isn't Jesus himself.  "First" in this case, however, doesn't mean "primary" or "most important".  It probably means "initial" love.  But what love is Jesus talking about?

At first blush “first love” might indicate an inadequacy of one’s love for Jesus himself.  But the things they were commended for must be taken into account, for they were commended for standing against false teachers—those who teach against what Jesus said—and for standing in Jesus in the midst of persecution. As I said, it couldn't be Jesus, and it unlikely to be God. 

It seems likely, then, that the love Jesus is calling inadequate is love for others.  To truly "love" Jesus is to obey His commands and his "new" command is to "love one another" (John 13:34; 14:15) .  To observe the law, according to Paul and Jesus and James, is to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Rom. 13:8; James 2:8; Luke 10:27-28)  

The church at Ephesus might be very orthodox, but they are ethically lax.  It is pointed out by some commentators that the vagueness surrounding the “love” might be because to love one’s brother is the same as loving God (I John 4: 20). 


Thus, when the Ephesian church is labeled as "fallen", Jesus says so because they are not loving each other or their neighbors as they should be.


Doesn't this sound familiar?  It is so easy to focus on doctrine and orthodoxy, but lose sight in our churches of our "first love"-- the need to care for the needs of the needy among us and around us.  As important as strong doctrine is, strong compassion is just as important.