Remember, Repent, & Recommit

“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.” (Revelation 2:3-5a) 

When I was about 20 or 21, I felt the Lord’s call into pastoral ministry. I began to pursue that call passionately. I was already involved in my church, volunteering quite a bit of time. (I facetiously  joke today that I hung out at my church so much, hoping that they would eventually give me a job…except, it’s not a joke.) But while I waited and continued to serve, I eventually finished my bachelor’s degree, and was about to get married, and so I needed a job. 

I was a part of a relatively large church, with a large staff, and they knew that I wanted to be on staff there. My pastor had also communicated to me that his desire was to have me there to, eventually. But, there wasn’t a job for me yet. So, I went and got my first real job, as I waited for the opportunity to join the staff of my church. 

I knew that I would one day be in vocational ministry, so I looked for any job that I could at least make some income while I waited for that day. In those early days of my walk with Christ, I was pretty excited (as most new believers are) and I wanted to be bold in sharing the gospel. So, as I looked for a job, I was praying that the Lord would put me where I would have a lot of opportunity to talk about Jesus. Eventually, I got a job. 

For my first real job I worked as a glorified coffee maker. I made overpriced coffee (though delicious) for sometimes grateful people. I was a Starbucks barista. I enjoyed that job…until I didn’t. Though I was grateful to have a job, I began to get bitter. In fact, I was finding it so difficult to find joy, that after I got married my new wife began placing Bible verses all over our small apartment to constantly remind me to fight for joy. 

I was still reading my Bible, still involved in my church, still doing all of the “right” things, but I was not happy, nor was I delighting in the Lord. I remember sitting in the parking lot of Starbucks, early in the morning, waiting for my shift to start, grumbling in my heart that I still had to be there. And I remember the Lord confronting me that morning. The heavens didn’t part, I didn’t hear God speak audibly, there was no writing on a wall, but I knew that God was speaking to me.  

And what I simply felt Him communicating to me was, “Have you forgotten why I have you here?” That was a punch to the gut. Immediately I remembered what I had prayed for when I was looking for a job. And in my bitterness I lost perspective and forgot why I wanted a job. I wanted to talk about Jesus, but my eyes had become so focused on myself and my own desires, that I was quickly getting bitter at God. I forgot, and I needed to remember. The same is truth of all believers, at times. 

In the verses above, the risen and glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, is speaking the church in Ephesus. This church, by-and-large, was doing fairly well. They worked hard, they patiently suffered, and they resisted all temptation from false teachers. This was a good church. However, Jesus notes one issue: 

“…you have abandoned the love you had at first.” 

Jesus basically means that they were doing all the right things, but not for the right reason; they were not doing it for others, nor doing it for the Lord they claimed to love. I am sure that many of us are constantly guilty of the same thing. And there is a basic principle we see here that we would all do well to keep at the forefront of our minds: 

Jesus cares not simply that we do the right things, but that we do them with the right heart. 

So, what do we do when we don’t have joy, when we become bitter, when we are just going through the motions, and when we aren’t serving God with the right heart? Well, Jesus answers it in those verses too: 

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first.” 

In other words, remember (that is, call to mind and acknowledge the sin), repent (turn away from your sinful heart and actions), and do (recommit yourself to the right things, but for the right reason).  

But as I sat in that parking lot, confessing my sin to God, asking Him to give me the right heart, I knew that this was still going to be a fight. Following Jesus, though the best life, isn’t always the easiest life. And even though this will still be a fight—a fight for faith—we have this promise from God: 

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7) 

So, let us remember, repent, and recommit ourselves to godly living, entrusting ourselves to the One who is sovereign over all, and as we do that may we receive the peace that can only come from God. After all, He HAS promised it to us.