“The Love You Had at First”

“I hold this against you, that you have left the love you had at first. Therefore remember from what you have fallen, and repent.”​—REVELATION 2:4, 5.

 1, 2. (a) What words of counsel did Jesus direct to the Ephesian congregation? (b) What may these words have caused?

ARE you a witness of Jehovah with many years of faithful service behind you? If so, how would you feel if somebody you respected very much spoke to you in the foregoing way? Would you resent it? Or would you think he had made a mistake and was speaking to the wrong person?

² Well, nearly 1,900 years ago the congregation, or ecclesia, at Ephesus in Asia Minor had those words addressed to it in a message directed to it by none other than the resurrected Jesus Christ. His words must have been a shock to them. Those Christians in Ephesus had endured in Jesus’ name and had resisted the influence of apostates for over 40 years. (Acts 18:18, 19; Ephesians 1:1, 2) “I know your deeds,” Jesus said, “and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot bear bad men, and that you put those to the test who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them liars.” (Revelation 2:2) They were still “in the truth,” as we say. So what was the problem?

 3. What was the problem of the Ephesian Christians?

³ They had lost ‘the love they once had.’ They no longer served with the same fervor of Christian love for Jehovah as at the first. As a result, they had slowed down. Hence, Jesus warned them: “Remember from what you have fallen, and repent and do the former deeds.”​—Revelation 2:5.

 4. What warning can we take from the Ephesians’ experience?

⁴ There is a warning here for Jehovah’s servants today. It is evidently possible even for those with long experience as active Christians to cool off. On the outside they may still seem strong, but inside they may have lost the deep love they once had for Jehovah. In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul warned: “Let him that thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) To help us in this regard, let us see how the Ephesians got their love and how they were helped to maintain it.

Christianity in Ephesus

 5, 6. How and when did the good news come to be preached in Ephesus?

⁵ In the first century of our Common Era, the city of Ephesus was a wealthy, bustling metropolis and the center of a thriving cult of the pagan goddess Artemis (or, Diana). The teaching about Jesus as the Messiah of Jehovah was first heard there at the latest in 52 C.E. when Paul arrived from Corinth along with the married couple Aquila and Priscilla. Paul himself could not stay, but Aquila and Priscilla did. When an outstanding speaker, Apollos, started to teach there “with correctness” about Jesus, this Christian couple helped to clear up the misunderstandings he had about baptism. Apollos went on to become an ardent worker in the first-century congregation.​—Acts 18:24-28.

⁶ Some months later, Paul returned to Ephesus and found a group of about 12 disciples who had been baptized with John’s baptism. Responding to Paul’s words, they were rebaptized. Then, for three months he preached in the synagogue. But when most of the Jews were unresponsive, Paul and the new disciples moved to the school auditorium of Tyrannus where he began to give daily lectures.​—Acts 19:8-10.

 7, 8. What notable events marked the early growth of the congregation in Ephesus?

⁷ Now began an exhilarating period in Ephesus. Jehovah performed powerful works of healing through Paul. People who merely touched his clothing were cured, and word of his preaching spread through the whole region. (Acts 19:11-17) In a letter he wrote at the time, Paul told the congregation in Corinth, on the other side of the Aegean Sea: “I am remaining in Ephesus until the festival of Pentecost; for a large door that leads to activity has been opened to me, but there are many opposers.”​—1 Corinthians 16:8, 9.

⁸ Paul stayed in Ephesus longer than two years. Many learned of the extraordinary love that Jehovah had shown in sending his only-begotten Son so that those exercising faith might have everlasting life. They accepted the truth, and the love they expressed for Jehovah and his Son was strong. Former practicers of magical arts “brought their books together and burned them up before everybody. And they calculated together the prices of them and found them worth fifty thousand pieces of silver. Thus in a mighty way the word of Jehovah kept growing and prevailing.” (Acts 19:19, 20) Imagine what a tremendous witness that was!

 9. How was the intensity of the new congregation’s love tested?

⁹ Soon, the intensity of the Ephesians’ love was tested. In Ephesus, many silversmiths made a good living making silver shrines of Artemis. Viewing the young Christian congregation as a threat to their livelihood, one of them, Demetrius, harangued his fellow silversmiths and fomented a riot. The lives of the Christians were in danger until the city recorder calmed the mob. (Acts 19:23-41) There may have been similar tests not recorded in the Bible, since Paul alluded to ‘fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus.’ (1 Corinthians 15:32) Nevertheless, the fervent love the Ephesians had for Jehovah helped them to endure.

10. How did Paul next try to encourage the Ephesian elders?

¹⁰ Eventually, Paul left Ephesus. But in 56 C.E., while on his way to Jerusalem, he found himself in Miletus, just 30 miles (48 km) away. So he called a meeting of the Ephesian elders and exhorted them to follow his own example and shepherd the flock of God that was under their care. He especially warned them against “oppressive wolves” who would appear from among them and would mislead the disciples. He also revealed that he would likely never see them face to face again. Thus “quite a bit of weeping broke out among them all, and they fell upon Paul’s neck and tenderly kissed him.”​—Acts 20:17-38.

11. What did Paul hear about the Ephesians when he was in Rome?

¹¹ When Paul got to Jerusalem he was arrested and eventually sent to Rome as a prisoner. There, his thoughts turned again to his Ephesian brothers, and he wrote the letter that appears in the Bible under the title “To the Ephesians.” Love for Jehovah and his Son on the part of the Christians at Ephesus was still strong at this point, since Paul said to them: “I also, since I have heard of the faith you have in the Lord Jesus and toward all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you.”​—Ephesians 1:15-17.

12. What counsel did Paul write from Rome that would have helped the Ephesians to preserve ‘the love they had at first’?

¹² In his letter, Paul gave fine counsel designed to help them keep their love alive. He reminded them that they were living during wicked days and, hence, should ‘buy out the opportune time,’ not letting other matters crowd out the doing of God’s will. (Ephesians 5:15-17) Paul also reminded the Ephesians that their real enemies were not the humans who tried to oppose them. Rather, he said, “We have a wrestling . . . against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” Hence, he strongly encouraged them to put on spiritual armor and keep in close contact with God by prayer.​—Ephesians 6:11-18.

13. How was Timothy able to help the Ephesians?

¹³ Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians about 60 or 61 of our Common Era. (Ephesians 1:1) Not long afterward Timothy visited Ephesus and, while there, received a letter from Paul that we call First Timothy. In it Paul encouraged this younger man to stay on in Ephesus to “command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing.” (1 Timothy 1:3, 4) Doubtless Timothy’s presence in the city helped most Ephesian Christians to preserve their zealous love for Jehovah in spite of the bad influence round about them.

14. (a) How had Jehovah strengthened the Ephesians? (b) In spite of this, what happened to them?

¹⁴ About 65 C.E., Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy. In it he mentioned that he had sent another emissary, Tychicus, to Ephesus. (2 Timothy 4:12) That is the last we read of Ephesus until Jesus sent his message recorded in the book of Revelation. The Christians at Ephesus were the fruits of the apostle Paul’s preaching. They had benefited from later visits by such outstanding Christians as Timothy, had received counsel through a letter inspired by holy spirit and were part of the “one body.” (Ephesians 4:4) Yet they lost the ‘love they had at first.’

Firm Counsel Needed

15, 16. (a) Why may some feel that it was to be expected that the Ephesians would lose some of the fervor of the love they had at first? (b) Did Jesus feel that way about it?

¹⁵ Some may view a certain amount of cooling off of the fervor of the Ephesians’ love as understandable. After all, there had been a congregation in Ephesus for more than 40 years when Jesus sent his message through John. Many, doubtless, did not personally remember the fine example of Aquila and Priscilla or the exciting preaching of Apollos. The apostle Paul had been dead for 30 years. Jerusalem had been destroyed two and a half decades earlier. So it might be expected that the Ephesian Christians would settle down, would lose their sense of urgency and zeal.

¹⁶ However, Jesus did not excuse such a trend. Others who had been Christians as long as the Ephesians or longer had not lost their ‘first love.’ The apostle John, who wrote down Jesus’ message to the Ephesians, had already been a follower of Christ for more than 20 years when Paul brought the good news to Ephesus. Moreover, those of the congregation in Philadelphia gave strong evidence that they had not lost the ‘love they had at first.’​—Revelation 3:7-11.

17. What was Jesus’ counsel to the Ephesian Christians?

¹⁷ Therefore, Jesus was not unreasonable when he firmly told those Ephesians that if they were not repentant and did not rekindle their love, they would likely lose out. He said: “I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:5) This was not so much a threat as it was a loving warning to those Christians, urging them to act wisely and thus not lose their privileges.

Why the ‘First Love’ Is Lost

18, 19. (a) What zeal did the Israelites have when liberated from Egypt? (b) Why did they lose that zeal?

¹⁸ Why do people lose their initial love for Jehovah and zeal for doing his will? The Bible does not tell us what happened to the Ephesians. But there are other examples in the Bible of something similar happening. Remember the Israelites who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Having witnessed Jehovah’s powerful works climaxed by the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea, God’s delivered people were highly enthusiastic. “Who among the gods is like you, O Jehovah?” they sang ecstatically. (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 136:1, 15) Later, when Jehovah made a covenant with them, they unanimously declared: “All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do and be obedient.”​—Exodus 24:7.

¹⁹ Yet the mood of the Israelites quickly changed. A temporary lack of water, a lack of variety in their diet, a fear of the Canaanites and other problems made them forget Jehovah’s mighty acts and the covenant he had made with them. Why, from a safe distance even Egypt, the land of their slavery, began to look attractive! They forgot the harsh cruelty of the Egyptians and could think only of ‘the fish, the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic’ that they once ate there.​—Numbers 11:5.

20, 21. (a) What exciting news did the Jews in Cyrus’ day hear, and what effect did it have? (b) What caused their enthusiasm to wane?

²⁰ Remember, too, the Jews who came back from Babylonian captivity in 537 B.C.E. Imagine their excitement when they heard Cyrus’ proclamation: “Jehovah . . . has commissioned me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel.” (Ezra 1:2, 3) Tens of thousands responded, and there was great joy when the foundation of the new temple was finally laid.​—Ezra 2:64; 3:10-13.

²¹ However, that enthusiasm quickly waned. Neighboring enemies objected and maneuvered an official order to halt the temple-building work. (Ezra, chapter 4) The Jews started to build fine houses for themselves. (Haggai 1:4) Of course, they still thought of themselves as practicers of the Jewish religion. They had not abandoned their faith. But they had lost the fervent love they earlier had for Jehovah and the interests of true worship. Doubtless, they thought they were being balanced or reasonable in what they were doing. But Jehovah did not agree. He sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to stir up their zeal and encourage them to finish building Jehovah’s house.​—Ezra 5:1, 2.

22, 23. (a) What may cause Christians today to lose the love they had at first? (b) What questions remain for our consideration?

²² Something similar can happen to Christians in our time. The day-to-day problems of living in a non-Christian world can dim their joy. With the passing of time, the truth may cease to be fresh and exciting. It may even occur that, as time erases the memory of what it was like to be in the world, a Christian may look longingly at the so-called freedom, the lack of responsibility, that worldly people have. (Ephesians 2:11, 12) Or Christians may become worn down by the attitude of the people around them. They may develop the idea that it is more reasonable to take it a little easier in God’s service, to slow down somewhat.​—Jeremiah 17:9.

²³ Something like this must have happened to the Ephesian Christians, but Jesus clearly felt that they could recover. In fact, through the apostle Paul they had already received much counsel which, if applied, would help to restore ‘the love they had at first.’ What was this valuable counsel? And will it help us to maintain our ‘first love’ today? We will discuss this in the following article.

How Can We Keep Our ‘First Love’?

 1. During these last days, have God’s people as a whole lost the ‘love they had at first’?

“YOUR people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force.” (Psalm 110:3) As this prophecy foresaw, God’s servants today have been vigorous in doing his will, holding fast to their first love for Jehovah. As an organized people, Jehovah’s Witnesses have maintained their enthusiasm and zeal for his service all through this difficult “conclusion of the system of things.”​—Matthew 24:3, 14.

 2, 3. (a) Why may an individual lose his ‘first love’? (b) If we find such an attitude developing in us, what should we do?

² Nevertheless, it is possible for an individual Christian to lose the love he had at first. Day-to-day problems may lead him to forget the great things Jehovah has done for him. He may get tired of waiting for Jehovah’s purposes to be fulfilled and may start to be attracted by the material advantages the world offers, or may perhaps feel a need to spend more time in recreation than he once did. Christian responsibilities, such as attendance at meetings or assemblies, preparing talks and sharing in field service may start to feel burdensome.

³ If we find such attitudes developing in us, we should follow Jesus’ counsel to the congregation in Ephesus, so as to cultivate again ‘the love we had at first,’ striving to “do the former deeds.” (Revelation 2:4, 5) We should realize that we need to regain our former fervent love for Jehovah and our zeal and enthusiasm for his service. How can we do that?

Cultivate a Love for Jehovah

 4. How can we imitate the psalmist’s fine attitude? (Psalm 119:97)

⁴ The inspired psalmist said: “How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern.” (Psalm 119:97) What a fine way to feel about God’s law! It is far more rewarding to serve Jehovah with an attitude like that than to have to keep forcing ourselves to do what we know is right. We need to develop a desire to do what is right, to do it because we want to.​—Psalm 25:4, 5.

 5. (a) What did Paul recommend to protect our spirituality? (b) How can we preserve its effectiveness?

⁵ Satan would like to pressure us into losing our ‘first love,’ for he is the greatest enemy of our spirituality. To oppose him, the apostle Paul urged the Ephesians to put on “the complete suit of armor from God.” (Ephesians 6:13) Included in that armor are four vital Christian features: truth, righteousness, faith and the hope of salvation. (Ephesians 6:14-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8) Of course, we learn about these features when we first come into the congregation. But metallic armor can become rusty if it is not maintained. Similarly, if we do not maintain these essentials, our spiritual armor will deteriorate and fail to protect us adequately. At all costs, we must prevent that from happening.

Study and Meditate

 6. How did one missionary solve the problem of maintaining his spirituality while in prison?

⁶ In 1958 the missionary Stanley Jones began to serve seven years in solitary confinement in prison in China. How did he keep his love for Jehovah strong while isolated from his Christian brothers without even a Bible? He reports that he wrote down all the scriptures he could remember and added to these any Bible quotations he could find in the “religion” columns of newspapers that were sometimes sent to him. Thus he built up a reservoir of Bible texts that formed the basis of a personal study and meditation program. Surrounded by people opposed to his beliefs, he knew that if he failed to keep his heart and mind filled with God’s thoughts, his faith would quickly become dull.

 7. What pressures do we face, and how must we protect ourselves from them?

⁷ True, most of us are not in prison. Nevertheless, for much of the time we are exposed to the thinking of this world. The entertainment that the world offers, while not always directly opposed to Christian principles, certainly does not promote such things as truth, righteousness, faith and the hope of salvation. Hence, if we do not spend time fortifying our hearts and minds, we will likely become weak spiritually and our love will grow cold.

 8. What blessing comes to the person who studies God’s Word and meditates on it?

⁸ If we do spend time fortifying ourselves by means of personal study and meditation, we will be like the man whose “delight is in the law of Jehovah” and who reads in that law in an undertone day and night. The psalmist says of such a man: “He will certainly become like a tree planted by streams of water, that gives its own fruit in its season and the foliage of which does not wither, and everything he does will succeed.”​—Psalm 1:2, 3.

 9. How can we develop a love of studying the Bible and meditating on it? (Psalm 77:11, 12)

⁹ Realistically speaking, many of us are not naturally inclined to study. Yet, if we want to, we can train ourselves to enjoy studying. Think of someone who takes up the pastime of jogging. At first his muscles will probably ache. Gradually, though, his body will adjust, and soon, if he perseveres, the jogger will enjoy his exercise. Paul told Timothy: “Be training yourself with godly devotion as your aim.” (1 Timothy 4:7) Studying the Bible is a part of godly devotion. (Proverbs 2:1-6) At first it may take discipline to get down to it. Soon, though, we will find real interest in learning new points or in getting a deeper understanding of things we already know. Our study will then give us genuine pleasure.​—Psalm 119:103, 104.

10. Why is study material covered more than once in study aids?

¹⁰ Some may feel that since they know the basic doctrines of the Bible they no longer need to spend time on personal study. They may even complain when similar material is covered more than once in Bible study publications. Yet the Bible speaks of the need for reminders. (Psalm 119:95, 99; 2 Peter 3:1; Jude 5) If we do not keep reminding ourselves of the truth, of God’s righteous standards, of our faith and our hope of salvation, our heart will be influenced by other things.

11. What are some things that Paul discussed in his letter to the Ephesians?

¹¹ Consider Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He reminded them of what their situation had been before they became Christians, and he spoke about the organization of which they were now a part. (Ephesians 2:12; 4:4-6, 17, 18) He mentioned Jehovah’s wonderful purpose for mankind and man’s part in relation to that purpose. (Ephesians 1:8-12; 2:4-6) And he reminded them of Christian principles that would help them to be successful in the family and in the congregation.​—Ephesians 4:1, 2; 5:21–6:4.

12. Why did Paul tell the Ephesians things that they already knew?

¹² Some of what Paul wrote may have been new to the Ephesian Christians, but much of it must have covered what they had heard before. Nevertheless, Paul wanted to remind them of these matters and perhaps provide fresh insight into them. Thus he helped the Ephesians to refurbish their spiritual armor and to “grasp mentally with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth.”​—Ephesians 1:15-17; 3:14-19.

13, 14. (a) How will study and meditation help us? (b) What further items are included in the “suit of armor from God”?

¹³ Our personal study, too, will refresh us and enrich our understanding of many basic points, as well as help us to grasp the deeper things of God’s Word. (1 Corinthians 2:10) In this way, our “suit of armor from God” will prevent Satan from making us lose our fervent love for Jehovah and his Son.

¹⁴ Among other things, the apostle Paul mentioned two other features of our spiritual armor that we have not yet discussed. He said that Christians should have their “feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace” and that they should accept “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word.” (Ephesians 6:11-17) How do these features help us to maintain the ‘love we had at first’?

Stay Active in Kingdom Preaching

15. What novel way did one imprisoned missionary find to have “plenty to do in the work of the Lord”? (1 Corinthians 15:58)

¹⁵ When, in 1958, the missionary Harold King began to serve four and a half years in prison in China, he faced the same problem as Stanley Jones: how to keep his ‘first love,’ his deep devotion to Jehovah, alive. He reports: “To keep alive my appreciation of spiritual things, I arranged for a program of ‘preaching’ activity.” He worked up some Bible sermons from the scriptures he remembered and preached to imaginary characters. Eventually, he conducted an imaginary Bible study. The result? When he was released, he was ready and eager to preach to real people again!

16. What is one important reason why we should be busy in Jehovah’s service?

¹⁶ His was a novel way of applying an important truth: To remain spiritually healthy we have to keep busy in God’s service. The apostle Peter said: “Brace up your minds for activity.” (1 Peter 1:13) And the apostle Paul exhorted: “Become steadfast, unmovable, always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in connection with the Lord.”​—1 Corinthians 15:58.

17. What was noteworthy about faithful Christians in the Philadelphia congregation?

¹⁷ It is noteworthy that while the Christians in Ephesus had allowed the ‘love they had at first’ to cool off, those of another congregation in the neighborhood had kept busy, and their love was still strong. Jesus said to the faithful congregation in Philadelphia: “I know your deeds​—look! I have set before you an opened door, which no one can shut.”​—Revelation 3:8.

18. What activity will help to keep our ‘first love’ alive?

¹⁸ What deeds will help a modern-day witness of Jehovah to maintain the ‘love he had at first’? Among others, deeds in harmony with Jesus’ command: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19) Harold King realized the importance of this. So did the apostle Paul. That is why Paul advised the Ephesians to have their “feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace” and to be equipped with “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word.”

19. How does preaching, which is a proof of our zeal, also build up our zeal?

¹⁹ There is a close relationship between zeal and the work of preaching and making disciples. True, zeal makes us want to do this work. But the preaching work will, in turn, stimulate our zeal. After preaching to a Samaritan woman, Jesus told his followers: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me.” (John 4:34) Teaching the truth had nourished him, built him up. Similarly, when we speak to others about God’s Kingdom, this impresses vital facts on our mind and heart and builds up our skills in defending the truth. (1 Peter 3:15) Furthermore, as God’s spirit supports us in this work, we become “aglow with the spirit” and see it working on others.​—Romans 12:11.

20. How do preaching and personal study work together to keep us strong?

²⁰ Is preaching to others a substitute for personal study? No. A balance is needed between these two activities. If we eat plenty of physical food but get no exercise, ultimately our body suffers. On the other hand, if we get a lot of exercise without eating enough food, eventually we ‘burn out’ physically. Similarly, if we engage in much personal study without preaching to others, we are likely to become unbalanced. The apostle Peter associated “activity” with ‘keeping our senses.’ (1 Peter 1:13) If we preach to others without doing personal study​—especially if the people we preach to are not very responsive—​then we may ‘burn out.’ However, if we engage in personal study and then go out and tell others what we have learned, we will remain spiritually healthy.

Buy Out Time

21, 22. (a) What large obstacle has Satan raised to our maintaining our ‘first love’? (b) How did Paul recommend that the Ephesians overcome this obstacle, and why should we follow his counsel?

²¹ Stanley Jones, describing one of the biggest problems he faced in prison, said: “I had so much time on my hands.” His problem was exactly the opposite of that experienced by many of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Most of us are chronically short of time. Why is this? The apostle John said: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Satan’s world keeps people so busy constantly that they have little opportunity to think, let alone study. We are no part of the world, but we certainly do feel the effects of its way of life. Using its influence, the “wicked one” would like to keep us so busy that our service to God would be crowded out.

²² Paul recognized this problem and gave the Ephesians this valuable counsel: “Keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) If we fail to buy out time to do “the will of Jehovah,” the pressure of living in these ‘wicked days’ is likely to cause our love to cool off.

23. What kind of personal study and preaching activity will help to keep our ‘first love’ alive?

²³ True, some Christians have heavy obligations or are sick and thus are quite limited as to what they can do in God’s service. (Luke 21:1-4) But in harmony with Paul’s counsel to Christian slaves, whatever we can do should be done in a “whole-souled” manner. (Ephesians 6:5, 6) Personal study will never be enjoyable if we snatch just a few minutes for it between television programs. Similarly, our field ministry will hardly keep our ‘first love’ and zeal alive if we spend merely a token hour or two in it each month between periods of recreation.​—Compare 1 Timothy 4:8.

Pray for Help

24. What further vital aid to our spirituality did Paul mention to the Ephesians?

²⁴ Ending his discussion of “the complete suit of armor from God,” Paul urged fellow believers to accept “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word, while with every form of prayer and supplication you carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit.” (Ephesians 6:17, 18) If we keep in close contact with Jehovah by prayer, we will not lose our ‘first love,’ even though we have to endure many pressures or, like John, have served many years in this system of things. Paul said in another letter: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.”​—Philippians 4:13.

25. In summary, what provisions has Jehovah made to help us avoid losing ‘the love we had at first’?

²⁵ Most of us get tired from time to time. But Jesus’ message to the Ephesian congregation shows that we can and must avoid losing the ‘love we had at first.’ As Jehovah helped the Ephesians by means of Paul, Timothy and others, he is helping us today through his organization. If, in turn, we train ourselves to enjoy study and meditation and ‘brace up our mind’ for the fine activity of telling others what we learn, while praying to Jehovah for help to persevere in doing his will, then we are doing a fine work. In keeping with what the apostle Paul told the Galatians, “let us not give up in doing what is fine, for in due season we shall reap if we do not tire out.”​—Galatians 6:9.