The believers of the church in Ephesus had lost their first love for Jesus. Certainly everything looked great on the outside. There was plenty going on. The believers were working hard, persevering, and not growing weary. They were guarding the truth – but in spite of all this there was a problem. They had lost their first love. Without love all is worthless. They must have loved to spend time in the Word of God before they fell – loved to pray, and loved the joy of being with other believers and having fellowship together.
Even today it's possible to be doing works without being motivated by love – just going through the motions. Despite everything that's happening around us, we need to stay focused. At Ephesus, the believers' deeds had taken over. Jesus has to be our main focus, our love, our passion, our desire, our longing – and our hunger. Everything else flows from our relationship with Him.