启二4　 然而有一件事我要责备你，就是你离弃了起初的爱。

　　可十二30 你要全心、全魂、全心思并全力，爱主你的神。

　　我必须见证我爱主。我在一九二五年，就是六十七年前得着主。在这许多年之后，我觉得祂对我仍然是那么亲密，我向着祂仍然那么亲近。……我在意这亲爱的、活的一位。每当我提到祂的名，我就快乐。当我们早晨醒来时，我们第一件必须作的事乃是说，“哦，主耶稣。哦，主耶稣。”最好加上说，“我爱你。”我们该说，“哦，主耶稣，我爱你。哦，主耶稣，我爱你。”这是何等亲密、甜美、富有感情！……有些事我不肯作，通常不只是因为这些事不对，或因为我怕神，乃是因为我爱祂。我会说，“主耶稣，我爱你，所以我不能作这事。”

　　我们必须胜过失去起初的爱。在以弗所的召会是很好的召会。那是一个有次序而正式的召会（启二2~3）。我们当然喜欢这样的召会，但这样一个有次序的召会却离弃了起初的爱（4）。“起初”这辞和路加十五章二十二节里译为“上好”的辞，在原文里是同一个字。我们向着主起初的爱，必须是对祂上好的爱。路加十五章里的浪子回家时，父亲告诉仆人把上好的袍子拿来。这里的“上好的”，就是起初的（李文集一九九一至一九九二年第四册，二六八至二六九页）。

　　Rev. 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.

　　Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.

　　I must testify that I love the Lord. I received the Lord sixty-seven years ago in 1925. After all these years, I feel that the Lord is still so intimate to me and that I am so close to Him… I care for this dear One, this living One. Whenever I mention His name, I am happy. When we wake up in the morning, the first thing we should do is say, “O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus.” It is better to add, “I love You.” We should say, “O Lord Jesus, I love You. O Lord Jesus, I love You.” How intimate, how sweet, and how affectionate this is! Quite often I would not do some things, not merely because they are not right or because I fear God but because I love Him. I would say, “Lord Jesus, I love You, so I cannot do this.”

　　We need to overcome the loss of the first love. The church in Ephesus was a good church. It was an orderly church and a formal church (Rev. 2:2-3). Surely, we would like such a church, but such an orderly church had left the first love (v. 4). The Greek word for first is the same as that translated “best” in Luke 15:22. Our first love toward the Lord must be the best love for Him. When the prodigal son in Luke 15 came back home, the father told the servants to bring the best robe. Best here means the first. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The Overcomers,” p. 202)

　　起初的爱就是神自己。圣经告诉我们，神是爱（约壹四8、16）。在整个宇宙中，只有神是爱。主吩咐作丈夫的要爱自己的妻子。但作丈夫的凭自己不可能爱妻子，因为我们不是爱。只有一个人位，就是神，才是爱。……神不仅是上好的，也是起初的。在整个宇宙里，神是起初。……神是起初〔参创一1〕，神是第一。歌罗西书告诉我们，我们的基督必须是第一位。祂必须居首位（一18下）。基督必须是第一。……恢复起初的爱，就是在凡事上以主为第一。如果我们在生活上凡事以主为第一，那意思就是我们胜过了失去起初的爱。

　　基督不仅该在大事上是第一，也该在小事上是第一。……我们应当在穿衣和发型的事上让主居首位。当我们在凡事上让基督居首位，这就是恢复失去之起初的爱。……起初的爱必须是在凡事上让神、基督、主、我们的主人，作第一位。……有时当我穿衣时，我会对主说，“主啊，你喜欢这件衬衫么？你喜欢这双鞋么？”这样的谈话是非常亲密的，是以主为起初的爱。恢复起初的爱，乃是在大事小事上都让主居首位。作丈夫的应当在对妻子谈话的方式上，让基督居首位。我们必须求主赦免我们在许多事上没有让祂居首位。

　　在一切事上，我们都必须让基督居首位。我们若这样作，我们基督徒的生活就会不同，我们的感觉也会不同。我们终日会在主里快乐。当我们在主里喜乐并同主喜乐时，凡事都令人愉快。另一面，当我们没有在主里喜乐，没有同主喜乐时，凡事就都令人不愉快。只有爱主的人才享受主作恩典（弗六24）。因此，我们第一件要胜过的事，乃是胜过离弃起初的爱。离弃起初的爱，是历世代以来召会失败的根源和主要的原因（李文集一九九一至一九九二年第四册，二七○至二七二页）。

　　参读：得胜者，第二至三章；生命信息，第六十八至六十九章。

　　The first love is the love that is God Himself. In the Bible we are told that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). In the whole universe, only God is love. The Lord charges the husbands to love their wives. But it is impossible for the husbands to love their wives in themselves because we are not love. There is only one person who is love—God. God is not only the best but also the first. In the whole universe, God is first… God is the beginning [cf. Gen. 1:1]. God is the first. Colossians tells us that our Christ must have the first place (1:18b). He must have the preeminence. Christ must be the first… To recover the first love is to consider the Lord Jesus as the first in everything. If we make Christ everything in our life, that means we have overcome the loss of the first love.

　　Christ should be first not only in big things but also in small things…We should give Christ the preeminence in the way that we dress and the way that we style our hair. When we give Christ the preeminence in everything, this is to recover the loss of the first love. The first love must be to have God, Christ, the Lord, our Master, as the first One in everything. At times when I am getting dressed, I talk to the Lord by saying, “Lord, do You like this shirt? Do You like this pair of shoes?” Such a talk is very intimate with the Lord as the first love. To recover the first love is to give Him the preeminence in great things as well as in small things. The husbands should give Christ the preeminence in the way that they talk to their wives. We need to ask the Lord to forgive us for all the things in which we do not give Him the preeminence.

　　In all things we should give the preeminence to Christ. If we do this, our Christian life will be different, and our feeling will be different. Throughout the day we will be happy in the Lord. When we are joyful in and with the Lord, everything is pleasant. On the other hand, when we are not joyful in the Lord and with the Lord, everything is unpleasant. The enjoyment of the Lord as grace is with those who love Him (Eph. 6:24). Thus, the first thing that we have to overcome is the leaving of the first love. The leaving of the first love is the source of and main reason for the failure of the church throughout the ages. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The Overcomers,” pp. 202-204)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The Overcomers,” chs. 2-3; CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Life Messages, Volume 2,” chs. 68-69