Have We Left Our First Love? Are We Still Saving Lives?

THE LIFEBOAT STATION

, by Theodore Wedel

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give their time and money and effort to support its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club’s decoration, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.

About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos, so the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a "lifesaving station." But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. This they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred at the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

Have we left our first love? Are we still saving lives?

THE TEXT

John begins, by addressing his message to the “angel” –probably referring to the pastor or elder—of the church of Ephesus. These are the things said by HE who holds the 7 lamp stands, or the 7 churches, in HIS hand.

The Ephesian church of Revelation chapter 2 is in a state that many of our churches, our lifeboat stations, are in. The Ephesian church is in a state that, if not looked at and seriously critiqued, many churches (our lifeboat stations) are going to be in real soon. What is that situation? Well, the situation is just as John explained it.

Today we say so many times the phrase “ Make it plain.” Well, John made it plain, by telling them as it was. He said: “These are the things said by Christ I’ve got some good news for you and some bad news for you today. Let me tell you the good news first.”

You’ve been real good. I know what you’ve done, I know the labors that you have done in My name, I know that you’ve had patience, I know that you’ve contended for the faith, and I’m proud of you. You see, I know that you’ve done your work for the community. You’ve provided clothes for the community; you’ve provided help and money for those that suffered at the hand of natural disasters like fire and flood. You labored for the kingdom of God. You’ve had your weekly Bible studies, and your choir rehearsals, and your monthly church meetings. You’ve had communion once a month, and I’m glad. You’ve contested for the faith against false apostles and you know that they are liars. You’ve taught your churches to know the validity and power of the Holy Bible. You’ve taught the truth of the Word. You’ve told your children that there’s just something NOT right about the Jehovah’s Witnesses,and the Mormons. You’ve told our youth that our God is NOT the same god of the Buddhists, and Hindus, and the Unitarians.