{"id":29127,"date":"2022-04-05T22:40:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=29127"},"modified":"2022-04-05T22:40:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:40:40","slug":"what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Joseph Horton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

If you and I were to load up in the first century and take a visit to the church in Ephesus, I think we\u2019d be impressed. The congregation was planted by Paul (Acts 19), had Timothy as their preacher for a time (1 Timothy 1:3), and they were praised for their faith (Ephesians 1:15). Christ himself bragged on their works and their patience in the faith and their intolerance of sin and evil (Revelation 2:2-3). <\/p>\n\n\n

However, before we take a trip there, we need to be aware of one big problem they faced. This is a problem so big that it undermined and invalidated all of their strengths. Christ tells them what it is: \u201cBut I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first\u201d (Revelation 2:4). The problem?<\/p>\n\n\n

Their love for Christ had grown weak.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Maybe they had failed to recall God\u2019s love for them. John tells us that \u201cwe love [God] because He first loved us\u201d (1 John 4:19). When we lose an awareness of God\u2019s staggering love for us, our love for Him can be diminished. Regardless, Christ lays out the consequences for the Ephesian Christians for \u201cabandoning the love.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

He says, \u201cRemember 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\u201d (Revelation 2:5). <\/p>\n\n\n

In other words, if they don\u2019t recover their love for Christ they possessed at first, their status as a church of Christ would be revoked. I told you this was a big problem for them. <\/p>\n\n\n

This account raises a sobering question: How do we know when our love for Christ has grown weak?<\/strong> There are probably several warning
signs, but here are three:<\/p>\n\n\n

First, our love for Christ has grown weak when our love for others wanes. <\/h2>\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to love others, and that\u2019s putting it lightly. We can relate to the little girl who prayed, \u201cDear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.\u201d Yet, the New Testament inextricably links loving God and loving others. Responding to a question from a Pharisee, Jesus teaches that the two most important commandments from the old law are to \u201clove the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind” and to \u201clove your neighbor as yourself\u201d (Matthew 22:37-39). <\/p>\n\n\n

The Apostle John seems to build on his Lord\u2019s teaching when he writes, \u201cIf anyone says, ‘I love God,\u2019 and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother\u201d (1 John 4:20-21). So a shortage of love for others reveals we are not loving Christ as we should. Conversely, when we love others well, we are demonstrating our love for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n

Second, our love for Christ has grown weak when our trust in Christ wanes.<\/h2>\n\n\n

The Proverbs writer says, \u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths\u201d (Proverbs 3:5-6). This is a timely message for Christians living in 2022 in the USA, the most prosperous nation to ever exist. <\/p>\n\n\n

We live with several layers of safety and security that protect us from calamity. We trust in God, but also in our savings accounts, our retirement funds, and our insurance policies. Sometimes I wonder, do I even know what it is to trust Christ with all my heart? True trust is when every earthly comfort is stripped away and we can still say with the apostle Paul, \u201cOn Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us\u201d (2 Corinthians 1:10). And wholehearted trust reveals truehearted love for Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n

Finally, our love for Christ has grown weak when our obedience wanes.<\/h2>\n\n\n

As the old song says, \u201cTrust and obey, for there\u2019s no other way to be happy in Jesus.\u201d Jesus makes clear that the way we show our love for Him is by obeying Him. He says, \u201cIf you love me, you will keep my commandments\u201d (John 14:15). <\/p>\n\n\n

Some may say, \u201cSpiritual maturity comes through greater understanding of deep truths.\u201d But I think developing spiritual maturity is more about greater obedience to simple commands. As I heard someone say recently, we\u2019ve all been educated beyond our current level of obedience. If we want to love Christ more, we should ask, \u201cAre we doing what we know Christ has told us to do?\u201d Growing in obedience to Christ is growing in love for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n

Our Lord Jesus told the Ephesian Christians they needed to repent and renew the love they had at first (Revelation 2:5). They had lost their love, and desperately needed to recover it. If we find that our love for Christ has grown weak, we need to repent too. And then we need to demonstrate our love for the One who loved us first by loving others, and by trusting in and obeying Him.<\/p>\n\n\n

This article appears in the April 2022 issue of Think Magazine<\/em>. For subscription information, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joseph Horton If you and I were to load up in the first century and take a visit to the church in Ephesus, I think we\u2019d be impressed. The congregation was planted by Paul (Acts 19), had Timothy as their preacher for a time (1 Timothy 1:3), and they were praised for their faith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59,66],"tags":[118,446,930,684,204,352],"class_list":["post-29127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","category-think-excerpts","tag-bible","tag-christ","tag-daily-walk","tag-devotionals","tag-guest","tag-think","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Joseph Horton If you and I were to load up in the first century and take a visit to the church in Ephesus, I think we\u2019d be impressed. The congregation was planted by Paul (Acts 19), had Timothy as their preacher for a time (1 Timothy 1:3), and they were praised for their faith […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"focus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"headline\":\"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":898,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"BIble\",\"Christ\",\"Daily Walk\",\"Devotionals\",\"Guest\",\"Think\"],\"articleSection\":[\"All\",\"Christian Living\",\"Think Excerpts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/\",\"name\":\"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/05\\\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Focus Press\",\"description\":\"Renew Your Mind\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\",\"name\":\"focus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"focus\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/author\\\/focus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press","og_description":"By Joseph Horton If you and I were to load up in the first century and take a visit to the church in Ephesus, I think we\u2019d be impressed. The congregation was planted by Paul (Acts 19), had Timothy as their preacher for a time (1 Timothy 1:3), and they were praised for their faith […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/","og_site_name":"Focus Press","article_published_time":"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"focus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"focus","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/"},"author":{"name":"focus","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"headline":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak","datePublished":"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/"},"wordCount":898,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","keywords":["BIble","Christ","Daily Walk","Devotionals","Guest","Think"],"articleSection":["All","Christian Living","Think Excerpts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/","name":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak - Focus Press","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-04-06T03:40:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","width":600,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2022\/04\/05\/what-to-do-when-your-love-for-christ-grows-weak\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What to do when your love for Christ grows weak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/","name":"Focus Press","description":"Renew Your Mind","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13","name":"focus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"focus"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus"],"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/author\/focus\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Love-for-Christ-grows-weak.001-e1649216429706-1.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}