You forget the Rock who begot you,

unmindful now of the God who fathered you.

(Deuteronomy 32:18)

"I have

this complaint

to make;

you have

less love now

than you used to."†

That first fervor

is pitiably fragile

we probably realize

from our own

experience

but

we may not

have realized that

we bear a responsibility

for keeping it alive,

as these words

disconcertingly imply.

Has the intensity

of our love

and dedication

wound down?

Can this sad indictment

be leveled

against us

and against our congregation

as it was

once spoken

against the Ephesians?

"You have

less love now

than you used to."†

† Revelation 2:4