The main force of our lesson today was focused upon the why and the how of our Ephesian church. Specifically, why they fell from their first love and how they were instructed to do something about it.
Most forms of infidelity in relationships – whether between humans or God – is often not due directly to an overfocus upon the other person in the relationship, but rather their preoccupation with someone or something else. Furthermore, it often isn’t even about the other person themselves as much as what they represent to the unfaithful party. As such, unfaithfulness or a drifting of one’s allegiance and devotion to their loved one often does not even have their loved one in mind when they do it. It doesn’t happen all at once, but by degrees. Over time, actual affairs take place due to an inward affair of the heart which has gone unchecked for some time.
The answer? Don’t focus upon stopping whatever you are doing. Instead refocus your attention back from where it strayed. That is how the affair began and that is its remedy. It is not focused on stopping sin, but on loving Christ as first and foremost in one’s life with the kind of love that spends itself on the other. You cannot walk in devotion towards opposing goals simultaneously. So long as you focus on the sin – even in a desire to stop it – your attention is still on the wrong thing and it will conquer you!
Jesus’ counsel was this – Remember, repent and do the first works.
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