Still Burning. Part 1 | When Love Grows Quiet
Key Thought | Spiritual drift often begins not with rebellion, but with forgotten affection.
Key Scripture | “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” —Revelation 2:4 (NLT)
There’s something sobering about Jesus’ words to the church in Ephesus—not because they were failing, but because they were faithful. They were doing the right things. They were showing up. They were standing for truth. And yet Jesus says something essential had slipped away.
“You don’t love me like you did at first.”
That tells us something important: spiritual drift doesn’t usually happen all at once. It happens quietly. Slowly. Often unnoticed. Not through rebellion, but through familiarity. Through routine. Through a love that once burned bright but now flickers.
Many of us don’t wake up one day deciding to love Jesus less. Life just gets loud. Responsibilities grow. Pressure increases. And over time, affection can be replaced with obligation. We keep serving. We keep believing. But intimacy gives way to endurance.
What’s beautiful is that Jesus doesn’t begin with accusation. He begins with invitation. He asks them to remember. To look back—not with shame, but with honesty. To recall what loving Him once felt like. The tenderness. The joy. The eagerness to be near Him.
Jesus isn’t interested in shaming His church; He’s interested in restoring her heart. And He still speaks that way today. Not demanding perfection, but calling us back to love that is alive, responsive, and real.
Take a moment to remember when your love for Jesus felt tender and alive. Ask Him to gently show you where affection may have cooled, and trust that His invitation is not condemnation, but restoration.
Prayer | Jesus, thank You for loving me first. Where my heart has grown distant or distracted, draw me back again. Restore what once burned, and teach me to love You with renewed affection. Amen.
Reflection
Key Scripture | “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” —Revelation 2:4 (NLT)
There’s something sobering about Jesus’ words to the church in Ephesus—not because they were failing, but because they were faithful. They were doing the right things. They were showing up. They were standing for truth. And yet Jesus says something essential had slipped away.
“You don’t love me like you did at first.”
That tells us something important: spiritual drift doesn’t usually happen all at once. It happens quietly. Slowly. Often unnoticed. Not through rebellion, but through familiarity. Through routine. Through a love that once burned bright but now flickers.
Many of us don’t wake up one day deciding to love Jesus less. Life just gets loud. Responsibilities grow. Pressure increases. And over time, affection can be replaced with obligation. We keep serving. We keep believing. But intimacy gives way to endurance.
What’s beautiful is that Jesus doesn’t begin with accusation. He begins with invitation. He asks them to remember. To look back—not with shame, but with honesty. To recall what loving Him once felt like. The tenderness. The joy. The eagerness to be near Him.
Jesus isn’t interested in shaming His church; He’s interested in restoring her heart. And He still speaks that way today. Not demanding perfection, but calling us back to love that is alive, responsive, and real.
Take a moment to remember when your love for Jesus felt tender and alive. Ask Him to gently show you where affection may have cooled, and trust that His invitation is not condemnation, but restoration.
Prayer | Jesus, thank You for loving me first. Where my heart has grown distant or distracted, draw me back again. Restore what once burned, and teach me to love You with renewed affection. Amen.
Reflection
- When was your love for Jesus most vibrant?
- What might it look like to return—not in effort, but in affection?
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