A drunk man on a donkey.
Revelation Unlocked #23 A drunk man on a donkey.
“I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Revelation 2:2-4
This is Jesus’ analysis of the church at Ephesus. He has a number of positive things to say about it. It is an energetic church that knows how to work (v.2). It is a patient church that endures without getting weary (v.2-3). It has discernment and is doctrinally sound (v.2 and 6). It is interested in truth and does not want to see falsehood gain entry into the church. It would be easy to get excited about this very effective church, but there’s one small problem: the church is backsliding in love (v.4).
There are many paradoxes in the Christian life and paradoxes can be hard to maintain. On one hand, there is the call to be faithful, energetic, discerning, and doctrinally sound. On the other hand, there is the call to be masterful in love. This is a difficult tension to keep in balance. Checking someone out to see if they are doctrinally sound at the same time we are trying to love them can be hard to do. The desire for sound doctrine and decisive action often leads to the loss of mutual love, which is the badge of discipleship. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35, NIV.
Martin Luther tried to explain the difficulty of balancing faith and obedience by using the illustration of a drunk peasant on a horse – you don’t know which side he will fall off on!
I find that true in my own experience. Balancing grace and obedience is a challenge. I find encouragement in the experience of Ephesus. The early Christians had the memory of walking with Jesus and they had the living apostles with them, yet they had to deal with some of the same issues we struggle with today. If the early Christians had this same problem, we should not expect to have an easy time of it. We always need the Holy Spirit’s presence if we want to keep our balance.
In our text, Jesus uses two different Greek words to express the idea of “patient endurance” and “enduring hardship or difficulty.” In a sense, these words express two different ways of saying the same thing. But put the two concepts together and there is the combined sense of moving on when you cannot move anymore, or continuing to carry a burden when the weight is pressing you down. It is a combination of the English word “patience” with the English word “endurance.”
The Christian life is sometimes like that. In the valleys, we skip along and seem to make wonderful progress. But if we choose to come up to God’s vision for us, we must eventually ascend to the upper mists of the high mountains. We must go into the thin air of high places. We must learn what patient endurance is all about.
But …
The Ephesus church seems to have been replaying the experience of Israel before the exile to Babylon. In the words of Jeremiah to the people of Jerusalem, “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert. . .” Jer 2:2, NIV. The early years of Israel’s experience in the wilderness was a time of relative devotion and faithfulness. But now things have changed: “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?” Jer 2:21, NIV.
If you had to choose between strong doctrinal soundness with decisive action and love, which would you choose? When we don’t know what to do, the safest course of action is to love. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that we could have doctrinal soundness and all kinds of helpful works but if we don’t have love, the works are of no value.
Hi Ross. I have been getting 2 posts a day instead of 1 and now today didn’t get one at all. Hope it’s just a glitch in the system. Enjoying the study in Revelation. Thank you.
The server went off line – sorry about that, but thanks to you and others that alerted me. I will fix the two posts today. Ross
hopefully Annie, you are no longer getting 2 posts a day! Ross
Hi Ross, I didn’t receive number 24. 🙏🙏
The server went off line – sorry about that, but thanks to you and others that alerted me.
Thankyou Ross, I am really enjoying reading your messages. Thankyou. Debbie.
Hi Ross, I did not receive #24. Thank you for all your efforts in providing these messages daily 🙏🙏
The server went off line – sorry about that, but thanks to you and others that alerted me.