A Vision Powered By Love (Part One)

This week, while studying the second chapter of the book of the Revelation, I was reminded of the tragedy of the loveless church. Revelation 2:1-7 reveals the tragic story of the Church of Ephesus. I believe that there is a tremendous lesson here for the 21st century church. We need vision and our vision needs to be driven by passion found only in loving the Lord. The writer of the book of Proverbs spoke of this need when he said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Prov 29:18 KJV) In the first reading we may only focus on the part about dying because of lack of vision but the verse literally says, “Where is no vision or revelation the people throw off restraint and happy is the man who keeps the law.” Jesus explained the first and greatest commandment to the scribes when He said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30, KJV) Jesus also said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:10-13, KJV) 1 Corinthians 13 is a familiar chapter in the Bible that basically says that you can have everything but without love you have nothing. The Church of Ephesus was a hard working body of believers that lost their first love and that resulted in the loss of their significance for the Lord in spite of their hard work, efforts toward doctrinal purity, and their vision. That being said, our vision must be powered by our true love for Christ.

The church is the Body of Christ on this earth, not a building made with bricks and mortar. As the Body of Christ we must have the vision of Christ that is powered with love for Him. In John 21:15-25, Peter learned that he needed to truly love the Lord before he would be able to fulfill the mission that he was given. Christians today are faced with this same challenge. Too many local congregations have wonderful mission statements but they never recognize that it is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that brings significance to their vision. Worship, evangelism, discipleship and fellowship are four areas that must be considered for the local church to develop a clear vision. In the days to follow I will be sharing how our first love for Christ must be the driving force in each of these four areas.