I hold it against you that you abandoned your first love, Part 1
In this sermon, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains the meaning of the Lord’s rebuke in Revelation: “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” He clarifies that God does not rebuke the wicked, but His beloved ones who once had love but grew cold with time, because they can still return and repent.
1. The Meaning of Divine Reproof
The Lord reproves His children because there is hope in them. When He says “You have left your first love,” it does not mean they fell into grave sins, but that the warmth of their former love for God and others has cooled. God cares more about love than about works; even one who serves and labors without love has lost the heart of the relationship with Him.
2. Signs of Losing the First Love
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Prayer without longing or warmth.
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Service turned into a routine duty.
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Worship without emotion or reverence.
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Relationships lacking genuine affection.
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Weak faith and increased doubt in God.
3. Comparison Between the Beginning and the Present
At first, one prayed with tears, spoke humbly, and longed for God’s presence. But with time, spiritual dryness appears — the outer form remains, but the inner love fades.
4. Biblical and Personal Examples
The Pope mentions examples like Solomon the Wise, who began with great love for God but was distracted by glory and women; Job’s friends, who once loved him but later accused him; and David, whose followers abandoned him when Absalom rebelled — all examples of those who left their first love.
5. Causes of Losing the First Love
Distraction by worldly matters, fear, people’s words, spiritual wars, doubts, attachment to formalities rather than the essence, and lack of sincerity in one’s relationship with God.
6. The Call to Repentance and Return
The Lord not only reproves but also says: “Remember from where you have fallen and repent.” Meaning, recall your first state — your fervent love and burning heart — and return with repentance and tears. Leaving the first love is a form of falling, and without repentance, one risks losing his spiritual lampstand.
7. Coptic Orthodox Spiritual Meaning
Repentance is not just regret but a return to one’s first love — to heartfelt prayer and service filled with spiritual affection. The Christian life, in its essence, is a love relationship, not a mere performance of duties.
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