“Remember the height to which you have fallen, and repent…” 

Remembering the top height of an experience might bring to mind a mountain peak, a walk to the top of steps, or a view from a plane. Either way, we’d try to remember the vista from that experience of height.

Can this relate to closeness with Jesus? Is there a height to that experience? Can we recall “first love” (Rev 2:4) with Jesus? Can we remember a time when courtship of one another had the freshness of young love? 

One of the commands to this end-time church is clear—”remember” (Rev 2:5). Stop, consider and remember. What surrounded the days of the height? What deeds accompanied those days of awakening: poems, long walks, love notes, sacrifice? 

Another word is “repent.” Consider the height so the descent can be measured. Such a measurement can lead us to temporary shame, but we can press on if we face it. Jesus wants us to. 

If we do, won’t He help us face our fall, and rekindle “the things we did at first” (Rev 2:5)? For obeying the command of the written Word promises that He, the same Word made flesh, will accomplish that very thing. He is the one of jealous love who most keenly feels being forsaken from first love (2:4). And perhaps, too, He knows that only by looking back can we truly go forward and stand in a future that climbs the heights.