Ephesus

      Today's Our Daily Bread speaks of losing our spiritual passion, as did the church at Ephesus. It ends with the statement, "Devotion to Jesus is the key to spiritual passion."
      While that is certainly true, lack of such devotion is merely the symptom of much deeper issues, issues that spring not from any religious deficiency, but from our most basic humanity.
      Love is work, and we tend to seek out "labor-saving devices" to make maintaining relationships easier and more efficient. We take short cuts to communication, emphasizing the value of small amounts of "quality time," rather than just plain time.
      We don't deliberately transfer our affections from Jesus to people, work, or recreation. But it happens none-the-less. In fact, we often have the best of intentions when putting Jesus on the back burner. Didn't He tell us to love one another as we love ourselves? And love does take time. And we have only so much time in each day. And Jesus understands that we have to maintain our other relationships. And a more creative person could cop many more excuses for letting our relationship with Jesus slip into limbo.
      All these excuses ignore the fact that any relationship not built on Jesus is doomed to mediocrity. So by shoving Jesus aside and pursuing our lives and loves without His primary involvement, we scuttle the very things we claim are most important. Talk about irony!
      As I write this, I have one accusing finger pointed at the corporate "we," while three point back directly at me. Yes, I am the chief offender, possessing a world-class laziness that flows through life like a meandering stream, always taking the path of least resistance. So my guilt is greater than those who blindly stumble along, not understanding their own sinfulness. But praise God for His marvelous grace!