“He
who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling
in him.” John 2:10 NKJV
Have you ever felt abandoned? It can
be very scary. Spouses get abandoned; children get abandoned; animals get
abandoned; ideals get abandoned. Something or someone always gets hurt in
abandonment. The church at Ephesus experienced this sorrow in a twofold way.
Others got hurt and then the Church got hurt.
The Ephesians had a very strong position
on sound doctrine. Good for them. It is too often abandoned these days. But
they became so obsessed with sound doctrine that they nitpicked on every minor
area (Romans 14:1-10) and abandoned the doctrine of love. Jesus had told His
disciples that the world would know they were Christians by their love. The
church in Ephesus became so centered on total conformity in all doctrine that
they left their love for others in the church that didn’t totally conform.
Those people were hurt by the rejection. But Christ warned the church not to do
that and that if they did He would close them down. We know from history that
He did just that. Then they were hurt and the entire city lost one of the
greatest of all the early churches. Let us love one another and also encourage
one another in sound doctrine. We need both.
Dear
Father, Thank You for giving us truth and thank You for giving us love. Help us
to be faithful to both. Amen.
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