Scripture
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7
Observation
What a promise! A reversal of The Fall, a restoration of Eden, a path back to paradise, a life lived out in the perpetual presence of God through the sacrifice of Jesus. All of this is waiting for, not just the church in Ephesus, but for any who has an ear to hear what The Spirit is saying. What is it we need to overcome? A hard heart and a cold love toward The Lord and others is what happens when we don’t keep the first things first. What’s first determines what’s next and a love that isn’t first won’t last. So, did Ephesus heed this warning and return to the things they did at first? According to Biblical scholar David Duzik, “the Ephesians heeded this warning. In the early second century (not too long after John wrote), Ignatius praised the love and the doctrinal purity of the Ephesians. “You, who are of the most holy Church of the Ephesians, which is so famous and celebrated throughout the world … you, being full of the Holy Spirit, do nothing according to the flesh, but all things according to the Spirit. You are complete in Christ Jesus.” (Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Chapter 8).
Application
Whenever I read this passage my imagination goes back to what it must have been like to walk for Adam and Eve to walk in the cool of the day with God prior to The Fall. They would talk about which animals they had named that day and why Adam thought Platypus was the perfect moniker for such a funny looking creature. They would all laugh together at the thought of it. A laugh completely free of cynicism, sarcasm, spite, or malice. A laugh born out of joy and a deep unbroken love between Creator and created. How I long for that kind of communion with my Savior. Thankfully, this is not out of reach. The path back to paradise is a promise for anyone paying attention to what Holy Spirit is saying to His Church right now. It can be summed up in these three steps found in the Savior’s words:
*“REMEMBER therefore from where you have fallen… “ Revelation 2:5
Fall on your knees when you’ve forgotten how far you’ve fallen. The word ‘remember’ in its various Hebrew and Greek forms occurs over 250 times in the Bible. It is so easy to forget all that God has done for you. It is important to look back at your own life as well as the history of the church, both local and global, to remember all that God has done.
*”REPENT…”. Revelation 2:5
Repentance is not about feeling sorry, but rather taking responsibility. Where is God convicting you of sin in your life?
*RETURN “to do the first works…” Revelation 2:5
Love is action oriented. We aren’t working to earn love, we are loved and and loving Jesus in our daily lives.
Prayer
Jesus, I remember how I used to pray for hours as teenager because I just loved to be in Your presence. I repent for the places where I have been distracted and haven’t been paying attention to what Your Spirit is saying throughout the day. As I return to one of the “first works” in Sabbath in this next month I pray that the silence, stillness, and savoring of that one day with You will reorder my priorities in the other six days. There’s just nothing like being in Your presence. What an extraordinary thing to know that I can be in Paradise with You not just in Heaven but right here and now!
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