Loveless Labor

Loveless Labor is Possible

Revelation chapters 2 and 3 contains seven letters addressed to each of the seven churches in Asia Minor. The Ephesian church is commended for its perseverance. Jesus tells them

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“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary”. (Rev.2:2-3)

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These Ephesian Christians were diligent to live by the doctrines they had come to embrace. Their commitment was evident in their work. Jesus says of them, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance” (Eph. 2:2). They not only toiled but kept pressing on even when the winds were against them. Also, they were a very discerning church. They “cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false (Rev. 2:2). They did not foolishly accept false professors of the faith. They tested and unmasked the deception of phonies. They were marked by a hatred for things that are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ: “you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Rev. 2:6; cf. Ps. 139:21; Rom. 12:9).

But despite all these moving commendations, Ephesus was plagued by a worrisome problem. Jesus says to them, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4). They had drifted into a loveless hard work, discernment and perseverance. As Jesus warned so it happened to them. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12; cf. 1 John 4:20). 

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Loveless Labor is Dangerous

Being trapped in doing much good but being loveless is a very scary prospect. We could read Jesus’ criticism of the Ephesians and secretly wonder if he might have been unnecessarily severe: “how can he say such great things about this church just to turn around and rebuke them so sternly?”

Consider the seriousness of the fault that had infected this church. They had forsaken their first love. What does a church have if it doesn’t have love? Someone who speaks in languages, even the languages of angels, but is not loving, is nothing more than an exasperating sound (1 Cor. 13:1). Someone with a gift of so spectacular that he can fathom all mysteries, or a gift of faith that can move mountains is nothing without love (1 Cor. 13:2). Someone who undertakes the greatest sacrifices imaginable, up to and including surrendering all one’s possessions and his life, profits nothing if such sacrifices are devoid of love (1 Cor. 13:3 cf. 16:14).

A church without love is a church without the gospel.

Pastoral labor without love is fundamentally bereft of the gospel. A Christian without love is nothing since “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). It is precisely for this reason that Jesus calls the Church in Ephesus to “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” (Rev. 2:5).

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Loveless Labor Demands Urgent Repentance

“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”. (Rev.2:5)

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Jesus enjoins the church to reclaim the earlier days of love and devotion to him. True remembrance necessarily results in repentance. And true repentance will produce works suffused with love for God and one another. Lest we think this is something that applies only to the first century situation of Ephesus, Jesus announces, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7). These words apply to all the churches John addressed and indeed to all churches of all times and places. They apply to us here. They apply to you and to me. In fact, this is not just a message for a local church in the corporate sense. It is addressed to the individual members as well. The local church is not an empty set. It is made up of members. And those with ears in the church are called to hear. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7).

Are there areas in your life, or marriage or ministry that have degenerated to a dutiful and loveless completion of tasks? Jesus tenderly and urgently invites you to repent. The blessing to follow that repentance is nothing short of eternal life. “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7 cf. Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). Conquering here means conquering in the areas where Jesus has criticized the church, namely, repenting from having drifted off into a loveless hard work and discernment and perseverance (cf. Rev. 12:10). This is like Jesus saying: “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13). That is your promise. If you feel that you have drifted and your life has not been marked by a loving wonder at Jesus and a loving tenderness towards your brothers and sisters, then hear this:

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“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”. (Rev. 2:5)

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