“1 Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands: 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lamp stand from its place among the churches.” Revelation 2:1-5
I don’t consider myself to be a DIY (do it yourself) mechanic by any means. I have no clue about what to do when something starts to click, rattle, or sputter in my car. Usually, if not most of the time, the moment I learn how to trouble shoot an issue with my car is when it is too late. This by no means is an effective way to become a DIY mechanic. I have had to look into transmissions, different fluids, changing flats, switching out brake pads, and all sorts of different issues that would arise because of a lack of maintenance.
My most recent venture in the world of DIY was a lesson I learned the hard way from a wobbling sensation I started to experience as I drove around. Mind you, I had no clue what the issue could have been, and like always I ignored it for a bit assuming it would then go away and or fix itself (don't judge me). As time went on, the wobbling continued until my entire car would shake as I drove from place to place. After moments in which I assumed the back of my car would fall off, I lifted the white flag on behalf of my dying car and took it to a mechanic.
While there, I explained the issues I was having and the mechanic attempted a problem shoot of all possibilities. What he found was to me was shocking. Both of my back tires had been warped out of shape to the point that you could rub your hands and feel the groves where the tire rolled up and down like waves on the inside. I was warned of all the possible issues that could have took place if I would have allowed them to get any worse, and soon was directed to buy a new set of tires and align all of them.
Most of the time in our lives, things that seem to be heavy issues for us started from small beginnings. When asked why it is so hard to determine when tire alignment is off, Firestone, a very prominent tire company in the United States, stated this about tire alignment and trouble shooting, “It’s not you, it’s your eyes. We mere humans can’t see in fractions of degrees without technology. It only takes a minuscule amount of misalignment to have a huge impact on tire life. So, signs and symptoms of poor wheel alignment, unfortunately, aren’t always right there staring you in face.” They then go on to explain the necessity of regularly allowing those that can measure alignment accurately to measure it regularly. Now you might be asking; what does this have to do with all those Bible verses you dropped on us at the beginning of this article? I’m glad you asked.
The church that Jesus was talking to in the book of Revelation was a church that was prominent in those days. They seemed to be working fine and as a church should. Nothing to the naked eye was wrong with how the church in Ephesus was operating. However, Jesus points out very plainly that they had not loved him or each other as they did at first. The original translation uses the phrase “You have left your first love.” The word left, here is something that is shown as deliberate. It is interesting that he did not use the word lost. The Ephesians had good things that they were doing, but the inside their hearts were slowly leaving the reason behind their actions. Paul makes a very clear declaration of love and action in 1 Corinthians 13 in verse 2, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” This could be said about the Ephesian church. They were very good in moving forward, but when the clicking, rattling, and sputtering of their heart continued to get louder, instead of paying a visit to the foundation of their faith they continued on.
In our own lives, we can seem to do the same exact thing. We can be doing so much good for the Kingdom of God without knowing that little by little the wear and tear of the world is causing misalignment. The things that misalign us, at times, are not major events but small potholes in life. As a matter of fact, Firestone tells us on that it is pot holes, bumps, and average wear and tear that start the process of misalignment. In our walk, we are no different. As we go through this life we can find ourselves slowly drifting off as the problems of this life pile upon us. Our human tendency is to ignore the issues or continue on our path without truly allowing for anyone to help. Shunning help from the Lord is the quickest way to slide back into the world he saved you from.
I recently heard this illustration from Hillsong New York’s campus pastor Carl Lentz. If a plane taking off from New York to Los Angeles was flying out of alignment by one degree it would land some forty miles away into the Pacific Ocean.
It is so important that we stay connected with our creator. We lose our purpose and calling quicker when we stay out of his Word and presence. Take time this week to allow Jesus to realign you. Take time during your day to ask the Holy Spirit to continue to show you the things that you do daily that are causing issues in your walk with the Father. Don’t wait for your life to start breaking down in order to have Christ build back you up (though he always will), but instead lower your pride and ask for help! Even when you don’t know what to ask for because you can’t see it any issues in your walk, trust that God already knows and sees the issues of your life and always know that he is working on your behalf if you would just open yourself up for his work.
