My paternal grandad, William (Bill) Macdonald, was born in 1932. He died last year at age 92. In the 1950s, my great-grandfather, also Bill Macdonald, listened to Herbert W. Armstrong’s radio broadcasts. My great-grandfather tithed to the Radio Church of God (which became the Worldwide Church of God), received one of the first copies of the early version of The United States and Britain in Prophecy delivered in Australia, and told his son that Mr. Armstrong was right and that he should attend the wcg.
In 1963, my grandparents started attending God’s Church in Sydney, Australia. Grandad was 31 years old, and my dad was 8.
The same year, wcg membership in Australia was large enough to warrant buying land and constructing a large building to hold the Feast of Tabernacles. Land was purchased in the town of Blackheath, about 70 miles northwest of Sydney in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.
To save money on construction, the Church purchased secondhand bricks for the tabernacle. Nearly every other Sunday, for more than a year, volunteers would converge on the land in Blackheath to clean hundreds of thousands of bricks. For many, it was a long day, beginning with an early-morning, two-plus-hour drive into the foggy Blue Mountains. Members would clean bricks all day, then make the long drive home to resume their regular jobs the next day.
These work parties were popular. Old ladies would make tea and sandwiches; children would work for a while, then play; the men just worked. My grandad loved these work parties, and since he had his own business, he was able to attend most of them. For over a year, Grandad and his family would spend many Sundays at Blackheath. It was a massive sacrifice. But Grandad was in love with God’s truth and with the rapidly growing Work of God.
When the tabernacle was finally completed, brethren from across Australia traveled to Blackheath to keep the Feast. Hundreds of members from Western Australia, where my mother’s family is from, made the 2,500-mile journey from Perth to Sydney. Today there’s a paved highway across the desert. In the late 1960s, it was a single-lane road, some of it still gravel. Gas stations were sparse; you had to bring drums of fuel. If you broke down or got lost, it could be fatal.
Nona, my maternal grandmother, was also in love with God’s truth and the Work of God. For Nona and other members, crossing the Australian outback to attend the Feast at Blackheath was a small sacrifice—and exciting.
For decades, my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandmother were loyal, passionate members of God’s Church. They paid tithes and gave offerings. They enthusiastically attended Church activities. They fasted regularly. “It would have to be sunset in Western Australia before my dad let us break the fast in Sydney,” my father recalls, probably with some exaggeration. Dad remembers his parents being captivated by three-plus-hour sermons from Gerald Waterhouse.
When Mr. Armstrong died in 1986 and the Church started going off track, Grandad knew something was wrong. He became upset and started asking questions. He was among the first in Australia to read Malachi’s Message. In 1991, he attended the first Philadelphia Church of God Feast of Tabernacles in Australasia. My family began attending in 1992, and we kept several Feasts with my grandparents on the east coast of Australia.
In 2001, after 38 years of faithfully attending God’s Church, calamity struck: My grandparents left the pcg and began attending a splinter group started by a rebel minister!
I don’t know all the details, but I know my grandad received some correction he didn’t agree with. He grew bitter and resentful and had to be suspended. Instead of his “time out” humbling him and bringing him to repentance, his bad attitude only intensified.
Satan no doubt influenced Grandad’s attitude, but something had happened in his life that made it easier for Satan to influence his thoughts and attitude. What happened? And what can we learn from this example?
‘I Know Your Works’
In Revelation 2, God begins His remarks about the first-century Church (and all the Church eras) with this statement: “Unto the angelof the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” (Revelation 2:1). This verse provides the premise to these messages to the seven churches: This revelation comes directly from God the Father through Jesus Christ, who “walks among” the church eras. This instruction comes from a trustworthy and perfect source, from Jesus Christ who witnessed firsthand what happened to the Church.
No matter what might happen in God’s Church, we must remember that Jesus Christ understands (and handles) the situation perfectly. The admonitions in Revelation 2 and 3 come from Christ, and they are as solid and trustworthy as the rising sun.
“I know thy works,” Jesus says,
“and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and has found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted” (verses 2-3). Christ sees everything: our prayer lives, our Bible study, our moods and attitudes. He listens in on our conversations. He knows our hearts and where our affections and interests lie.
Think about my grandad and his 38 years in the Church. He was an incredibly hard worker. He faithfully tithed and gave offerings. He attended Church activities, services, Wednesday-night Bible studies and every Feast of Tabernacles. He watched The World Tomorrow. He drove out to Blackheath dozens of Sundays to clean bricks. When Mr. Armstrong died, Grandad examined the claims of the men who took over from Mr. Armstrong and saw that they were liars. For almost 40 years, he “patiently suffered”—and God was pleased with him.
But doing all this wasn’t enough.
Hold Fast Your ‘First Love’
“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do” (Revelation 2:4-6; New Living Translation).
Most people in the Ephesus era, after years, even decades, of producing righteous works, fell out of love with God! This is what happened to Grandad.
Do you know the real tragedy of my grandad’s story? It’s the fact that this has happened to tens of thousands of members of God’s true Church over the past 2,000 years! History shows that a great many of God’s people have lost their “first love.” It is stunningly common within this present Laodicean era.
Surely this is the most heartwrenching trend in Church history: members falling out of love with God!
Revelation 2 carries a personal and direct warning to you and me. “Jesus Christ prepared the foundation for the Ephesus era, so there is a lot we need to study about that era in particular and the example it set,” Gerald Flurry writes. “Much of this history is prophetic. For example, there are many striking parallels between the first-century and last-century churches of God. In fact, many of the first-century examples are prophecies about the end time. It is clear that much of what happened to the first-century Church is happening again before our eyes today” (The True History of God’s True Church; emphasis added throughout).
This theme is all through the Bible—God’s people start strong then drift away, with many crashing out just before the finish. Think about Israel after David and Solomon. Or the lives of Joab and Abiathar. Recall King Hezekiah, who displayed tremendous acts of faith, then almost lost it all near the end. The natural tendency is to lose the “first love.”
This is why all through the Bible God implores His people to “hold fast,” to keep the “first love” alive, to “finish the race,” to “endure to the end.”
“The first-century Church could not have had a better beginning. … But the Church developed a fatal flaw. … The biggest problem in this era was that the people of God had lost their first love. That is a common problem among God’s people even to this day. It applies to every one of us. Long-time members must ask themselves: Do I really still have that first love—and more—for God’s truth, the living Word of God? Am I still in that first-love spirit, yearning for more and more of God’s truth and God’s understanding, hungering for righteousness?” (ibid). Be sure you stop and meditate on that warning from Mr. Flurry and ask yourself those questions.
“The people in the Ephesus era lost that,” Mr. Flurry continues. “They began to think, Yeah, I’ve heard that before. I already get that. But they didn’t really get it at all. Remember, this is a message for all eras of the Church. We all can lose our first love. If we are not careful, we will lose it! In this end time, 95 percent of God’s people—and 99 percent of the ministers—definitely lost that first love! What a searing message! What a colossal warning!”
The “first love” is like fuel in a car. It is guaranteed to run out if we don’t routinely fill up the tank.
Meditate on this chilling reality:If we are not careful, we will lose it!”
All About Growth
Revelation 2:2-3 provide an astonishing paradox. God delivers some high praise. He compliments these brethren on their work ethic, patience, endurance, intolerance for evil and evil people, their spiritual discernment and their willingness to suffer and sacrifice for God and His Work. In verse 6, He compliments them for hating the wicked works of the Nicolaitans, the great false church.
Then God says, Repent or I’ll remove the lampstand and you will die spiritually! (verse 5). That is serious correction. And what a sharp turn: Great job enduring and being patient, thank you for your service and sacrifice, and it’s great that you don’t tolerate evil people. But you need to repent!
What is this correction really about? “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works …” (verses 4-5). The problem isn’t simply a lack of righteousness or faith, nor is it only an absence of passion. The problem is a lack of righteousness, faith and love relative to their previous levels of righteousness, faith and love.
These people lacked love compared to their “first love.” The correction here really revolves around growth! As positive as their fruits were, they were regressing. These people had gone backward in their love of God.
God doesn’t only look at our fruits, our faith or our love for His Work and truth. He also compares our fruits to our past fruits. He considers how much growth has occurred!
It’s a bit like my fruit trees. This summer I harvested around 100 peaches. It was my first crop, and I was really pleased. But next summer I’m expecting and hoping for more than 100 peaches. If I get only 50 peaches, I’ll eat them and enjoy them—but I will be disappointed. And if fruit production continues to drop, I will inevitably take some extreme action to promote growth.
Examine yourself by the Revelation 2 standard: How does your excitement for God’s Work compare to when you were first called? How does the quality of your prayers compare? Your Bible study? How does the quality of your Sabbath-keeping compare? Your attendance of and love for Church activities? Your understanding, love and submission to God’s government? Your spiritual energy? Your fellowship and relations with your Church family?
Maybe you are doing well in these areas. But is it better than it was last year? Or when you were in your “first love”? This is how God measures our faith and works.
Inspire ‘First Love’ in Others
God used Mr. Armstrong to arouse this “first love” in many people. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). God says ministers, members and especially parents are to turn the hearts—not the intellects or memories, but the hearts—of the children to God!
This is the most essential part of true education: building a love for God, His truth, His Work and His Family!
This is what we aim to do at Imperial Academy and Herbert W. Armstrong College. We are igniting the first love in God’s children and young people. Igniting this love is more important than scripture memorization, taking quizzes or writing papers. Those are just tools to ignite the first love.
Parents, our number one priority in child rearing is to ignite this first love in our children and teenagers! And then to help them continually grow in that love!
By far, the most effective way we can do this is by our example. More than anything, our children need to see us passionate about God’s Work and truth. They need to see our willingness to sacrifice for God, our excitement for every Church activity and event, our enthusiasm for Church services and Bible studies, and our zest for fellowship. They need to see us excited about the Bible and about connecting with God in prayer. They need to see us embracing our local minister and embracing Church policies and guidance. They must see us excited about world events and fulfilled prophecy—excited about new revelation being poured into the Church—excited about Sabbath-keeping. This kind of fire is catching and will spread to the next generation! (Proverbs 22:6).
My parents had four boys, all born into the Church. I’m the oldest. Two of my brothers have died in the faith. People will sometimes ask my parents, my brother or me: How did all four boys stay in the Church? Our first answer is usually something like, By God’s grace, mercy and love. I don’t deserve to be here. I’ve done plenty of things that would justify God just blotting me out. My parents would say the same; they would not tell you it’s because of their perfect child rearing. Like all parents, they made mistakes.
My parents set a wonderful example in maintaining their “first love” and striving to grow in their love for God and His Church. Their actions in this area haven’t been perfect, but they were, and are, an incredible example to my brothers and me of what it means to always strive to be devoted to God and His Work. The Work and the Church always came first. We saw them sacrifice a lot for God and His Work.
God’s Church and Family were our life, or “the way,” as Proverbs 22:6 puts it. We played sports, had jobs and took music lessons in the world, but we never fellowshiped with worldly friends. The Sabbath was special, always the highlight of the week. We participated 100 percent in all the different Church programs, like Youth Educational Services. We lived and breathed the Church of God, partaking in every possible service, work party, holy day and Church activity.
In 1996, we moved to the country, about a 3½-hour drive from Perth where our small congregation was. That distance made this a potentially risky move. But we traveled to services every second Sabbath. We would leave our home at 6:30 a.m. to attend services and Bible study. During the winters, we had Spokesman Club on Saturday evening. We would depart the hall around 10 p.m. and arrive home by 2 a.m.
Where did Dad develop this devotion and willingness to sacrifice? He learned it as an 8-year-old boy who accompanied his father on his trips to Blackheath to clean bricks.
This is what it means, at least partially, to turn the hearts of our children to God. Parents, are our children learning from us how to love and worship God? Are new members learning how to love and worship God from your example?
From Love to Love
The Apostle Peter was one of the few members who was faithful to the end. This man put God first always. He remained passionate about his incredible human potential and the plan of God. He stayed driven and motivated by “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).
“We must be excited about what we are doing!” Mr. Flurry writes about Peter’s example. “When someone first comes into God’s Church, often he or she is on fire with ‘first love’—extremely stirred up about God’s truth. We who have been in the Church for some years should not be less excited than those individuals! We should progress from first love to second love to the third, fourth and so on! That love should be growing right up to the moment we are born into God’s Family! We should be overflowing with excitement to be a part of this awesome plan orchestrated by our heavenly Father” (The Epistles of Peter—A Living Hope).
Peter grew from love to love. What love are you on? Is it your second, third, fourth … maybe your 10th?
It’s interesting to think about “first love” in terms of generations. Do I love this truth, this Work, this Family more than my great-grandfather did? Do I love it more than my grandfather did when he was called? Would I give up every second Sunday for a year to clean bricks so the Church could build a tabernacle? Would I drive 3½ hours each way to attend Sabbath services and Spokesman Club today, like my parents did?
Parents, will our children have a deeper love for God and passion for His Work and way of life than we do? That’s the goal!
My grandfather and grandmother had a really strong “first love,” which blossomed into a second or third love. But that love eventually petered out. Perhaps at a certain point in his life—and it probably happened gradually—Grandad began to think too much about merely “holding on” and “enduring.” He started to wage defensive war rather than staying on offense and growing.
This is the reality of love, physically and spiritually: It takes work! We have to go on the offensive! Without calculated, intentional effort, love always turns lukewarm, then grows cold. If new wood isn’t steadily added, even the hottest fire will diminish. Consider: If we are not actively working to grow from love to love, might this be a sign that we are losing it?
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). “Contend is a military word! That word means war! It means fighting for the truth,” Gerald Flurry writes in his booklet Jude. It takes concerted, daily effort to grow in love with God and His Work!
Mr. Armstrong always spoke of “cause and effect.” There is a cause for love growing and a cause when love diminishes. Scripture plainly pinpoints the cause: “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12). Sin destroys love!
Study John’s Example
When Mr. Armstrong was called by God, he initially fellowshiped with a few members of the Sardis era. He described some of their positive attributes: They were humble, faithful people who held fast to the few doctrines they had. But he also noted that the era was dying! The history recorded in Revelation 2:1-3 was repeated: The Sardis era also lost its “first love.”
God had to move the lamp—and He moved it to a man who had a “first love” that raged like a California wildfire! Mr. Armstrong’s love for God and His truth grew stronger and more productive every single year. Mystery of the Ages, written when he was in his 90s, is a sign of that man’s love for God, for the truth of God and for the Family of God!
The Apostle John is perhaps the best example of a man who grew from love to love. If you want to learn more about this topic, study the life and works of John. (We have two booklets you can request and study: John’s Gospel—the Love of God and The Last Hour.)
How did John grow from love to love to love for decades? How did Mr. Armstrong do it? How does Gerald Flurry do it?
“Things became so bad in the first century that God had to move the lamp to the Smyrna era,” writes Mr. Flurry. “God’s people were losing their first love. They couldn’t get excited about God’s Work. John, on the other hand, never lost his first love! The more I study and reach for what he understood, the more I wonder how anyone could fall away from God’s truth! How could anyone lose this—the greatest truth you could ever know?” (The Last Hour).
We need to follow Mr. Flurry’s example and “study and reach” for the depth of understanding John had. “We must deeply study that love in this last hour,” Mr. Flurry continues. “We will only survive if we love God. What keeps a physical family together through rough times? Usually love. If there is love, a marriage will survive. If there is love in God’s Church, our marriage to Jesus Christ will survive!”
Ponder this statement from Mr. Flurry: “Our greatest need today is to comprehend the depth of love that John had!” (ibid). The history of God’s Church testifies to the pinpoint accuracy of that statement.
“Words mean nothing of themselves!” he continues. “Without God’s love, we simply cannot endure our trials and remain loyal to God, as Peter demonstrated! We need the love of God to survive!” Isn’t this the lesson of Revelation 2 and the Ephesus era? “The solution to our problems today—or anytime—is the love that John described” (ibid).
Study Church history and you will find that it took only 20 to 25 years for most members of the Ephesus era to lose their first love and fall away. How long have you been attending God’s Church? It has been 36 years since the pcg started. Sadly, like Grandad, a lot of early members have fallen away. It has happened to thousands, and it will happen to you and me if we aren’t growing from love to love!
“The Ephesus era began with a blaze of glory, but it ended in a cesspool of shame!” Mr. Flurry writes (The True History of God’s True Church).
Take some time to meditate on when you were first called. Ask yourself, Am I more in love with God today than I was then? God is asking this question.
And remember, He isn’t merely asking, Is (your name) excited about my law and my Work? Is __________ obeying my law? Is__________ praying and studying? God is asking: Is __________ at least as passionate about my truth and my Work as he was when I first called him? Is __________ obeying my law more than when I first called him? Does __________ love me more today than he did when I first called him?
Ask God to cause the admonition in Revelation 2:5 to echo through your life: “Repent, and do the first works.”
Many of us, when we were first called, were probably like my grandad. We were on fire for God and His Work. When God told us to repent to be more in line with His law and will, we changed, immediately and wholeheartedly. We devoured the new revelation, staying up late to study Bible prophecy. We ached to hear God’s prophet speak. We called the minister regularly for counsel. We fellowshiped often and robustly. We attended every activity. We enthusiastically and diligently gave offerings and paid tithes. We drove for hours to attend services and be with our Church family.
What about now?
Is your devotion in all these areas stronger than it was when you were first called? Are you growing from love to love to love? This is the supreme goal God has set before us. This is what it means to love God. And this is the only way to avoid following in the footsteps of my grandfather and the majority of God’s people over the past 2,000 years. Nothing is more important: We must grow from love to love.