Words of Hope Daily Devotional
Lost Love
Read: Revelation 2:2-6; Luke 7:36-50
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Rev. 2:4)
In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, the main character, beset by the uncertainties swirling around his life and family, asks his wife, “Do you love me?” She replies, “Do I what? Look what I’ve been doing for you the past 25 years!” Love is best measured not by words but by actions. The measure of God’s love for us is his gift of Jesus (John 3:16), and Jesus’s death for us is its ultimate demonstration (Rom. 5:8).
By these measures God’s love for us is infinite. But Luke 7 shows the reason why our love for Jesus matters. It is the measure of our gratitude. Because Jesus had forgiven her many sins, the woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair felt such overwhelming love for him that she had to demonstrate it, even if that meant embarrassing herself in public. The Ephesians were more like Simon the Pharisee—respectable, doctrinally correct, but cold.
Jesus knew that as time goes on, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). Often that’s because the Christian life is hard, and people drift away. But sometimes love grows cold because Christians get too caught up in church business. The Ephesian church was orthodox, it rejected heresies, it abhorred sinful behavior (Rev. 2:6). But it had forgotten what grace feels like. It had slipped away from where it all begins—the love of Jesus; his merciful love for us, and our grateful love for him.
As you pray, ask God to rekindle your love for him.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
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