Eugene Peterson once said that talking about God is often the total of opposite of talking to Him, which can make teaching the Bible a tricky proposition.  Replacing the former for the latter is a subtle and constant possibility.

A few weeks ago at church the pastor made a quick nod to what Jesus says to the church in Ephesus (always Ephesus!) in John’s Revelation:

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. (ESV from biblegateway.com)

I’ve thought about it a number of times since then, especially when the struggle between the institutional and the personal gets hard.  How easy it can be to abandon “the love you had at first.”  But how simple it can be to move your way back to the better place.  That’s why I love the simple prayer of this old song by Jars of Clay:

Music itself can be tricky waters to navigate, especially when it comes to worship and lyrics and personalities.  I think, though, that this song perfectly captures the tension between love and truth.  That chorus, that one simple sentence, could be a great prayer for the weekend.  I think I might just try that.