"Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference, which is, at least, half infidelity."

~ Edmund Burke ~

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"Breathtaking!"

There was simply no other word that could do justice to the visual feast before our eyes.

As Steve and I stood together on the vacant block of land we let the scene imprint itself forever in our memories. No photo would ever be able to do it justice and even memory would fail to capture the beauty of the panoramic view.

From our mountain vantage point we let our gaze wander down across the plains to the Queensland Gold Coast. With the sun casting brilliant light over everything and the ocean making a spectacular backdrop for the scene, it was little wonder that the words of "How Great Thou Art", came rushing to mind.

"O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made"

~ Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes ~

The land we were standing on was one of a small parcel of blocks available for sale, and looking around we noticed that several homes had already been built. Not surprisingly, each new house had a balcony facing toward the view. To do otherwise would be the equivalent of lighting a lamp and placing it under a bowl.

My sister, Diane, and her husband, Steve, had taken us on this little detour while showing us some of the highlights of their relatively new life as mountain dwellers. They weren't at all surprised by our reaction.

With my words of praise still overflowing, Diane surprised me by saying, "Yes, it's beautiful, but some people have been living with it for so long that they don't even notice it any more."

I looked around at the newly built homes and marveled that anyone could possibly ever take this vista for granted. It seemed beyond my ability to imagine a point where a spectacular panorama could become common place and incapable of capturing our attention.

Yet, just as quickly as that thought came to mind, it was followed by a not so gentle whisper from the Lord.

"But don't you do the same to Me?"

When faced with the truth there was nothing I could say except, "Guilty as charged".

I was 25 when I became totally committed to Christ, and from that moment all I wanted was to read about, talk about and learn about Jesus! Everything within me desired to live for God and to serve Him for the rest of my days. God went from a vague presence in my consciousness to the very center of my thoughts. I can still vividly remember the deep, overwhelming love for the Lord that stirred from its years of slumber and ignited with passion in my heart.

As the years went by I didn't particularly notice that those first fires of love had begun to die down. They were still burning, but where they'd once blazed like a forest fire, they were now as cozy and comfortable as the flickering flames in a campfire.

I was guilty of taking my relationship with the Lord for granted. Not quite apathetic and definitely not indifferent, but complacency had found a home in my soul and was passing around the marshmallows for toasting!

Christ's words in Revelation exploded in the midst of my spirit's cozy campfire, stirring up the embers and rekindling the flame:

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."

(Revelation 2:4-5a NIV)

Ouch! Truth has the uncomfortable habit of very often hurting!

What made this rebuke even harder was the knowledge of where it was originally aimed. The Church in Ephesus was a community of faithful and faith-filled believers. In Paul's letter to this Congregation, he was very open in his appreciation for them all, writing, "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you." (Ephesians 1:15-16a NIV).

The question has to be asked. What went wrong? What was it that led Christ to relay this message through the Apostle John in Revelation? Quite simply, they'd become comfortable in their faith. Complacency was at the door and apathy not far behind.

If a fire were to go from raging inferno to stone cold ashes instantly, we'd notice. But that's rarely what happens in the heart of a believer. More often it's a gradual decrease in the size of the fire, slowly causing the flames to die down over a long period of time. So imperceptibly does it take place that most don't even notice it's happening.

Not one of us would ever willingly want to forsake our first love for Jesus Christ. That thought alone is enough to make us start fanning the flames of our spirit. But we need to discover what He meant when He said that we should repent and do the things we did at first. The danger here is that we can interpret that as meaning we should get busier. But that's not what Christ meant.

"Busyness" is not enough to keep the fire blazing. In fact, the Lord begins His message to this Church by commending them for their hard work:

"I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men]"

(Revelation 2:2a Amplified Version)

This Congregation was active, service minded and very strong in their beliefs. But somewhere along the way, they'd left Jesus behind. They still loved Him, but their relationship had gone from zealously fervent to something akin to a comfortable old shoe.

For some reading this, dwindling fire won't be an issue. The flames of love and passion for Christ are burning so intensely that anyone coming within your range will automatically catch fire as well! All I can say is "Praise God" and remind you to keep burning brightly!

For others, you may have recognized that you've set up camp and those marshmallows are toasting very nicely. The view from the mountain-top has become a little less awe inspiring and all our hard work for God is actually hindering us from taking time to appreciate the scenery.

The answer is quite simply to go back to those days of first love for Christ and remember what we did and the joy and passion with which we did it. If we want to stir up the fire, then we have to stir up the relationship.

Perhaps it's time to stop everything we're doing and take a long look at the beauty and wonder of the Lord. The flames will surely burn brighter as these words of awe and worship pour from the very depths of our soul, "How great Thou art!"

"Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth."

~ A.W. Tozer ~

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