The Ephesian Slump

Revelation 2:1-7 should be read before reading this post and can be found HERE.

" To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." -Revelation 2:7

I played organized baseball for 11 years of my life and only once have i ever really suffered "a slump." I remember doing all of the right things that a dedicated baseball player should do while they were in a slump:

*I hated the fact that i was in a slump.
*I took extra batting practice.
*I consulted my coaches and asked them for their advice.
*I made adjustments to my batting stance.

I basically did everything a coach could ask for, except for one thing: I still wasn't hitting the ball!

That was until one day i was about to go up to the plate and bat but i was abruptly stopped by my 6' 5" coach grabbing my shirt right under my throat, staring me in the eyes, and firmly saying "Quit overthinking. See the ball - hit the ball."

He scared the slump right out of me. I went 4 for 5 that day and hit nearly .600 the rest of the season (which for those of you who don't know, is really good). I finally focused on the right thing to do rather than not doing all the things i shouldn't do.

I feel as though the Christians in Ephesus were in a similar slump but probably didn't realize it. They hated the right things. They probably didn't do the wrong things. They did do all the right things that would be asked of them. But the main objective still wasn't being completed! And that objective: love.

They were already praised for enduring harships, so in verse 7, "To him who overcomes" is probably directed at those who are to overcome their own need to be right about what to say and who to "not tolerate" and why to have the reasons you do about anything (how to spend money, who to vote for, what music to like, how and when to baptize, and all the other hot-buttons). Very few people fall in love and ask about what rules to follow and what not to do; they simply act out what's inside them!

Jesus seems to be calling the church in Ephesus, and us, back to acting like we have just fallen in love.

With Him.

With people.

With the creation around us.

Maybe if we spent more time being madly in love, and acting on it, people would respect our opinions on all the hot-buttons more. (Or maybe not!) But the overcomers overcome the need to be right about all the negative things in society and fall in love again. And somehow this grants us access to a Tree of Life in God's paradise.

May we find each other at the Tree eating deeply because we were focused on how to do the right things rather than focused on how to not do the wrong things.