deeds, their tireless activity, steadfast endurance, intense zeal for
the true faith, with special emphasis upon their unwearying
steadfastness even under sore difficulties, and their hatred of those
who made compromise with evil so hateful to Himself.

But there is something lacking, the tender personal love for Himself.
There's intense loyalty to Church and to the faith, but a lack of
personal love for Himself. And the startling thing is that this is said
to quite outweight all these good things. They may have these things
without the love, but they cannot have the love without having these
things, and at a finer temperature.

And this defect is crucial. If persisted in it is fatal. It will
actually mean their _rejection as His messenger_. This is the critical
thing which we seem to have such a hard time getting hold of. The
essential qualification for true service is the personal attachment to
our Lord Jesus Himself, that warm heart love which the human heart longs
for and gives to some one. He longs for this. This is _the_ essential;
not Church organization nor creed, not zeal for orthodoxy, but warm love
for a person. Service, witnessing, all the rest, are valuable to Him in
reaching His world only as they grow out of a tender love for Himself.

And the startling thing is that this privilege and opportunity of
service is to be taken away _not_ because displeasing to Him, but
because it fails of the end in view. The candlestick is only removed
because it is no longer serviceable; it is not giving out the light.
This earnest, aggressive, orthodox, patiently-enduring Church is to be
rejected as a light-holder, because it is not holding out the light.
This is tremendous!

The group in _Smyrna_ is tenderly reminded of the suffering of their
Lord, for they are filling up what is left behind of His suffering. This
tells at once the depth of their personal love for Him, nothing could
tell it more.

They are poor in money and so despised, but rich in faith and so
precious to Him. They are suffering at the hands of the Jews, who were
the outspoken, intense, fanatical enemy of the Christians. There is no
reproach, only earnest encouragement to keep steady even through
fiercer fires yet to come.

The description of Himself to the _Pergamum_ group is startling. He is
the one with a sharp two-edged sword. There is something here He must
fight against. They are frankly told that they have had a hard place to
witness in, a