Revelation 2:2-5
I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won’t put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars. You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up.
But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don’t have as much love as you used to. Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don’t turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I’ve owned a guitar almost continuously since I was about 8 years old…but at best, I’ve always been a mediocre guitarist. I can strum a few tunes enough to get by…but I never fully developed the knack to play really well. So when Timothy’s kindergarten teacher asked me to bring my guitar to the classroom and sing Christmas carols, I set in to practice enough that I would not embarrass myself – or Timothy. After a few days, I felt I was ready…but my fingers were so sore.
Here’s the thing about guitar strings…they are thin wires that dig into your fingers as you press them against the fretboard to create the pitches. Until you build up calluses, it can really hurt after you play for several minutes or longer. By the time I worked on the Christmas songs for the kindergartners over several days, my sore fingers were beginning to toughen, and it didn’t hurt as badly. I could play for longer periods of time.
Then Christmas came, and I got busy with holiday dinners and other things, and I stopped playing every day…and soon, my fingers lost their calluses. The next time I picked up the guitar, it hurt again. And the longer I go between “sessions”…the more “rusty” I get. I feel certain that were I to stop altogether for a long period of time, I would probably be unable to even fake a few Christmas tunes for five-year-olds.
This is essentially what the message to the church at Ephesus conveys…you’ve worked hard – for awhile and to a point. But you’ve lost your love and passion for Christ…and your relationship with Him is not as “callused”. You’ve grown “rusty” in your faith. And if you don’t start “practicing” again soon, your relationship will be taken from you.
Christian faith is something we have to work at. Yes, the gift of Salvation through the blood of Jesus is freely given. But to deepen our relationship with Christ…to be strong enough to stand up to sin and the evils that Satan hurls our way…to be effective in our witness and confident in our relationship with Him…we have to practice! We have to stay connected and work at digging deeply into God’s word and what it means for our lives. We have to talk to God and share the message of Jesus Christ with others…and speak with a firsthand knowledge of these teachings and how they have applied in our own lives. We have to live our faith each and every day.
I could kick myself for not picking up guitar and playing at least every few days, to keep those calluses. But here’s the thing…I CAN start again and rebuild them – and I can vow to keep them this time around. And so it is with Jesus…it’s not too late to start again…too renew and strengthen our relationship with Him…and to keep it that way. Are you ready to do this in your own “faith walk”? Isn’t today a great day to get started?!
©2015 Debbie Robus
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