A Revelation Invitation

“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. …

“‘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.’” (Revelation 2:1,5-6 ESV)

In the closing minutes of class my junior high math students would open their books to their homework assignment to solve a few problems. I would usually walk among the desks to make myself available to those who would need help. Some wanted no help at all but tolerated my peering over their shoulder checking if they were on track. Some welcomed my presence with constantly raised hands and looks of “Help me, please.” Others, waited for me to turn my back thinking I was unaware of their mischief. In uncommon moments of frustration I would eject a mischief maker from the class hoping that the isolation and humiliation would spark repentance. Regardless of their posture toward me as their teacher, I wanted each of them to succeed serving in any way that would help toward that goal.

The metaphor of Jesus walking among the lamps is a much richer analogy than my classroom. As his church we hope to be a light burning brightly as his witness to the world. The Spirit fuels the flames of the lamp. Jesus walks among us, trimming our lamp when needed to burn brighter. However, if we become independent from the Spirit and the Son, our flame will die out and be useless to our Lord. The Ephesus church had not yet fallen to that depth. As evidence Jesus highlighted his shared hatred of the works of those false teachers, the Nicolaitans. Their flame was flickering less brightly than it once did. They needed to remember how brightly it burned in the early days of their history back when their love for each other and for the lost was strong.

Jesus warned the church that without repentance he would remove their lampstand from its place. When you remember that the seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches that Jesus walks among, alarms go off. Jesus was threatening to remove this church from his fellowship! They would no longer be a church of Christ! What use is a lamp whose flame has gone out?

As long as there is a flicker of flame in our lamp, we can still repent. Jesus’ love for his church is evident even in this warning. With mercy he pleads with us to become what we know we should be. He walks among us. He stands nearby. He wants nothing more than our re-dedication to our love for one another. Then our flame will burn brightly before him and the world.

Dear Lord, your love for me is undying. Strengthen me as I rededicate myself to the love of others. Revive my spirit with the power of your Holy Spirit to live a life of devotion to my brothers and sisters. May others know that I am your disciple by my love for them. Amen.