By Lim Chieng Chong

When Paul first visited Ephesus on his third missionary journey, he brought the good news of Jesus there (Acts 18). Amidst a pagan culture and strong opposition, the Ephesian church sprouted. They grew in faith under good Christian leaders even though they faced false teachers and some believers left the church (Acts 20:29-30). At some critical point, Paul sent Timothy to pastor the Ephesian church to stay true as “the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

After decades, the Ephesian church became unyielding in hardships, uncompromising towards idolatry and immorality as well as discerning in wrong teachings. They grew in endurance, righteousness and truth (Revelation 2:2-3). This is really commendable for a church after many years, considering her humble beginning.

As Singapore celebrates SG60 (and SYFC, our 68th anniversary), we keep track of our progress and take stock of what we have been doing as a society and more importantly as followers of Christ and servants of the gospel. As individuals and an organization, have we been growing in endurance, righteousness and truth?

Although the Ephesian church got many things right, sadly, they missed out on one – they lost their first love (Revelation 2:4). And this one thing is the most important, the MAIN thing.

As we look back on our journey, we do not want to lose the big picture – our devotion to Christ. As followers of Christ and servants of the gospel, we keep asking ourselves, “are we still loving the Lord as much as when we first started?”

Even with the passing of years, our first love for the Lord must remain the be-all and end-all. Without love for the Lord, our endurance may just be mere self-talk and self-motivation, our righteousness can become self-righteousness, our approach to truth can lead to bigotry.

As you read this issue, do pray we remain anchored to the Rock in our hearts and geared to the times in our ministry engagements.