Keep your eye on the ball.

“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.’
(Revelation 2:1-7 ESV)

          When I was a little boy, I remember how hard my father worked to teach me how to hit a baseball. I had a bad habit of trying to look where the ball was going before I had actually made contact. As I swung the bat, my eye would drift from the ball to the outfield, because I knew I would hit it a long way. Well, as I too my focus off of the baseball, the trajectory of my swing would waver, and I would miss the ball. He would look at me with a half-stern expression, and half smile of amusement and say, "You've got to keep your eye on the ball, Son." 

          As in most other things that he told me, he was correct. When I watched the ball all the way, it would hit the bat, and my gaze would naturally follow it where it went from there. I was a much better player when I listened to what my father told me, and kept my focus where it needed to be. He taught me this lesson in baseball, in school, and in life. A man's focus determines his precision. 

          The same is true of Christians. There are times in which we lose our focus. The Church at Ephesus was no different. They too lost their focus. They took their eye off of the ball, and let their focus drift to something else. As is always the case, their performance suffered because of this. 

          Do not misunderstand me, Christianity is not all about performance, but such things are important. You see, we are put on this earth for the glory of God. That is our primary directive. It is the one thing that should mean more to us than anything else, yet it is something that we lose sight of so quickly. Even in our worship, we lose sight of glorifying God. We let our mind wander and fail to listen to the sermon, which is a message from God to his people. We let ourselves drift during the song service rather than praise the one who gave His life for us.

          This is what the sovereign Lord says, "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." The King James version says "You have lost your first love." Jesus is not talking about your first crush here, nor is he even using that as an analogy. The word first in this case, is translated "primary". You have lost sight of that which you should love more than anything or anyone else. 

          In this way, God says to the church at Ephesus, and to the church of today, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3 ESV). When we allow other things to take the throne in our lives, when something or someone other than Jesus Christ becomes our "first love", we allow that thing or that person to become our God. 

          This is not a thing that people want to think about. We spend a lot of time allowing other things to get in the way of Christ, and we don't want to think of it as idolatry. Truly, I regret to inform you that this is the case. If God is not first in your life, you have missed the mark. Sin. That word rears its ugly head again. I am no less guilty than you. I too fail in this area. 

          All is not lost for the church in Ephesus, or for the christian today. God approves of their righteous struggles. Then it was with the Nicolaitans, a group that strove for power among the congregation of believers. Their name came from the Greek roots Niko, meaning "conqueror" and Laos meaning "People". These conquerors of the people fought to set up a hierarchy in the church. They strove for power among the believers, which God himself decried saying "Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." God hated the deeds of the Congregation Conquerors, as much as the church at Ephesus did, however, he still scolded his children, as any good father must. Even today, he says to us with a  stern voice and a patient smile, "You've got to keep your eye on the ball, Son. Focus on your objective, Daughter. Love me primarily, Church." 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.