What does the Spirit say to the churches?

 To the church in Ephesus - the loveless Church - Revelation 2:7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

It could be said that the church at Ephesus had become weary in well doing and had forgotten their first love. From the 2nd chapter of Revelation it is noted that they remained quit active but they actions of love had become diminished.

No doubt they had heard of the  teaching of Jesus regarding loving God and neighbour as the primary drivers of faith. Had they understood his teaching that there was no greater love than to lay down their lives for their friends? In fact it could be said that the Ephesian church had become love-less. 

It was D. H. Lawrence  who said, “Those that go searching for love only make manifest their own lovelessness, and the loveless never find love, only the loving find love, and they never have to seek for it.”

Stuart Townend is a modern hymn writer. His songs are deep, complex, and thought-provoking. Like “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” became a huge anthem for the church when it was released in 1995.

To read the lyrics, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” seems more like a simple expression of our faith, and Townsend wanted it that way. In a discussion with Crosswalk about emotionalism in worship, he said, “The danger now is that we are so focused on the experience our worship can become self-seeking and self-serving. When all of our songs are about how we feel and what we need, we’re missing the point. There is a wonderful, omnipotent God who deserves our highest praise, and how we feel about it is in many ways irrelevant! I want to encourage the expression of joy, passion, and adoration, but I want those things to be the by-product of focusing on God—I don’t want them to become the subject matter.”

Had the mechanics of Church life and worship become the main drivers of the church in Ephesus of which the writer of Revelation called them to repentance and to live a love of unadulterated love. 

In another of Townsends songs we find the words:-

What love is this, that always gives
And never counts the cost,
That beats within the heart of God
With passion for the lost;
That lifts me from my wretchedness
And clothes me in His righteousness?
Everlasting love,
Everlasting love,
Everlasting love,
Be my joy and my light.