For the Love of It

Scripture:
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

—Revelation 2:4

Observation:
The thrill of new love is often enough to entice one to pursue the relationship.  But as the love grows older the heart grows colder.  Jesus says that the response to this waning love of the Church needs to be to remember, to think back to the thrill of new love, to return to the works of catalytic motivation.  Too often the response is separation, whether intentional or aftermath.  The love is allowed to die.  But that is not an option that the church can pursue without cataclysmic consequences.  One of the saddest things to see is a church that has allowed that love to die and consequently the church itself is dead.  This love is actually the sustaining force of the church and when the love is gone so is the church.  Jesus even warns the church that if it did not repent and return it would see its flame go out.
Application:
I had a conversation with a friend recently who was telling me how he has lost the passion and desire he once had for the ministry he was involved in.  This is a feeling that everyone in ministry will go through and have to wrestle with.  Too often the response of those who go through this situation is to let the ministry or their season in the ministry die.  Consequently they end up hoping from one ministry to another.  This is not to disavow the fact that God does call us to move on sometimes, but the reality is that more often then not God is telling us to stay put and we are packing our bags and moving on to seemingly greener pastures.  But no matter where we go, to keep the metaphor consistent, all the green grass turns brown and needs the loving touch of the gardener.
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro once said in one of his leadership classes that immature leaders will quit when the going gets tough, and I would add that for mature leaders they get going when it gets tough.  Pastor Wayne proceeded to teach that when someone starts ministry their passion is usually really high, but their commitment and skills are not.  So after a season the passion drops to almost nil but it is in this season that commitment and skills are gained and as they grow the passion begins to rise in accordance to the commitment and skill.  So the leader is less the zealous newbie and more the mature leader.  In ministry a leader must remember why they are there in the first place and work to cultivate a passion for the ministry or else that passion or love will die and that leader will move on.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and pursue your kingdom purposes.  Thank you for the valley seasons of my life in which you have molded and shaped me more and more into the man you created me to be.  Help me to cultivate a love for the ministry you have me involved in.  In Jesus name I pray Amen…