John penned these words of Jesus to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:4-5: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
The language seems to indicate a lack of fervor, fire or zeal on the part of the Ephesian Christians. They had good works (vs. 1-3), but they were lacking something. Bible students might desire more specificity. Surely, though, whether this verse refers to it or not, observant disciples can notice that there is sometimes a lack of enthusiasm among the Lord’s people. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, this is the case. Homer Hailey in his commentary on Revelation had an idea worthy of note:
Perhaps this loss of an early fiery devotion can be accounted for by the fact that the congregation was now in the second or third generation of its existence. This is always a dangerous period in the life of a church. At such a point the youthful fire of discovery and the enthusiasm of a glorious anticipation of future hopes too often begin to diminish.
Isn’t this a sad but true observation? It seems to be a common problem in many ventures. A business is opened by one generation of a family. They work feverishly to make ends meet at first and eventually make a profit. Their prosperity is sometimes not appreciated by a second or third generation of family heirs who take over the business. Those heirs might just succumb to laziness and snowball toward bankruptcy. A charitable organization begins with excitement and generates more over its first few years of existence. As the years pile up, though, enthusiasm may tend to dwindle. It is more difficult to get volunteers. It becomes tiring trying to stir interest.
Too often, this is the problem with congregations of the Lord’s church. One generation labored to establish the church in its community. Excitement ran high and evangelism was rampant. Members worked hard to get where they were, and they were going to keep working to keep it going. Such is the nature of those who have a lot of time and effort invested in a project. However, when a second, third, fourth or even fifth generation of that congregation comes along, fewer may seem interested in evangelism; fewer seem to care.
To be sure, some congregations avoid this trap, as do some family businesses. Zeal is a choice. It must be accompanied with knowledge of right and wrong (Romans 10:1-2). Zeal, though, must be ever renewed. “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,” said the prophet to Israel of old (Amos 6:1). Guard against ease and complacency. Souls are at stake.
