*When the Heart Drifts but the Hands Still Serve*
> “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”Revelation 2:4 (KJV)
There is a sobering truth in the Kingdom of God: it is possible to be deeply active in His work, yet quietly distant from His heart. The Lord commends labor, endurance, and discernment—but still says, “I have this against you.” This reveals that God is not primarily looking at what we do, but where it flows from. The works were not rejected; the misalignment of heart was.
Service to God was never meant to replace relationship with God. When love is no longer central, even holy activities begin to lose their fragrance. What once flowed as devotion slowly becomes duty. The hands remain lifted in service, but the heart is no longer resting in Him. This is the subtle drift—from intimacy to activity, from presence to performance.
Martha was not wrong in serving, yet she was gently corrected because she had become “troubled about many things,” while missing the one thing needful. In the same way, ministry can become a distraction when it takes the place of sitting at His feet. God does not rebuke effort; He restores focus. He is not asking us to do less, but to love Him first.
The danger is not always sin—it is displacement. When Christ is no longer our first love, even good works begin to stand in the wrong position. And what was meant to be a crown becomes a concern. For God weighs not only the work of our hands, but the posture of our hearts.
The call, then, is to remember the place where love was pure, where time with Him mattered more than tasks for Him. For in His Kingdom, the greatest works are not those done for Him, but those that flow from being with Him.
Your brother in Christ,
Apostle Ashok Martin