David Bahn – Reflections

Revelation 2:1-7

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The theater in Ephesus is where rioters once shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. When we visited there we sang praise to Jesus Christ.

Jesus stands among the churches to whom he writes. His presence is at once comforting and challenging. On the one hand it is good to know that Christ is near his people. On the other hand it is a cause for proper fear. Martin Luther explains it this way in speaking of the Ten Commandments, “We should fear and love God…” We can find comfort in God’s presence and grace; we love him for that. We must also realize that he really does care what happens to his church, his people, and the world itself; we will restrain ourselves out of a healthy fear of offending him by hurting those whom he loves.

In this passage, Jesus calls the Ephesian church to repent for the loss of their first love. It seems likely that this church to whom Paul had written, “By grace you have been saved by faith…” had forgotten how dead they had been, or how far God had reached to them in redemption. They were in danger of losing the church itself by their abandonment of this deep thankfulness for God’s grace.

Grace is free, but not cheap. It cost Jesus his life. It is a priceless treasure. God’s grace is the constant companion of those who look to Christ in repentance and faith. But lose sight of it, neglect the awareness of our need for it, take it for granted, and we are likely to lose it. That’s not because God stops being grace-full, but because of the nature of grace itself. Arrogance discards grace as a relic of weakness and a quaint bygone religious relic.

God calls us to repentance and the good works he has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10); works not to gain grace, but to express our praise to God for his glorious grace. I hope somehow I can express my thanks to God for this glorious grace today.