Peace by Moments and Marathons: The Ephesian Warning

There’s a haunting legend about Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The story goes that it took him twenty years to complete because he needed to find the perfect models for each figure.

He started with Jesus, searching for a face that carried purity, nobility, and beauty. He found a young man who embodied these qualities perfectly.

Years passed as he worked through the apostles, saving Judas for last. He needed a face marked by greed, betrayal, and decay. Eventually, he found a hardened criminal in prison and used him as the model.

When the painting was finished, the prisoner broke down in tears. “Master Da Vinci, don’t you recognize me?” he asked. “I am the young man you chose nineteen years ago to represent Jesus in this same painting.”

Whether this story is true or not, it raises a haunting question: What if our modern discipleship is so thin that, given enough time, it turns people who look like Jesus into people who look like Judas?

The Crisis of Discipleship

We all know the stories. Someone who grew up in church but has little love for their neighbor. A ministry leader portrayed as a saint in public who turns out to be an abuser in private. People who consume endless Christian content but become more reactive, cynical, and divisive than ever before.

For decades, the American church has been ringing the alarm about our crisis of discipleship. Dallas Willard put it this way: “The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who identify as Christians will become disciples.”

The problem? Most of us can’t even agree on what a disciple is, let alone the path it takes to become one.

At Passion Creek, we believe a disciple is not just an attender but someone who reorients their life to be formed by Jesus, together, for others. But we also believe there are no accidental disciples. You need a path—a framework—to get there.

We guard our hearts by renewing our minds with Scripture, living in community for exposure and encouragement, getting intentional with practices that reorient us to God’s presence, and relying on the Holy Spirit. But there’s one more piece: moments and marathons.

The Ephesian Story

To understand this, we need to look at the church in Ephesus across three biblical snapshots.

Acts 19: The Powerful Moment

In Acts 19, something extraordinary happened in Ephesus. God moved powerfully to deliver souls and transform a city. People were baptized, filled with the Spirit, and miracles happened. The presence of God was so real that those practicing magic arts burned scrolls worth thousands of dollars.

This moment matters because in a single moment, God can deliver your soul. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” The penalty for sin was paid. You receive that gift the moment you put your faith in Christ—when you reach the end of yourself and cling to the cross alone.

But the story doesn’t end there. The same God who came in power to Ephesus can come in power to our cities today. Do we believe that? Or is our vision of discipleship just about lowering our anxiety and keeping our kids in church?

Ephesians: The Marathon Manual

Years after that breakthrough moment, Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians. Unlike his other letters, this wasn’t a response to crisis or improper behavior. This was a manual for the marathon.

We cannot confuse breakthrough with maturity. There’s a need for spiritual deliverance AND a need for spiritual disciplines.

The first half of Ephesians gives them theology—their salvation and identity in Christ. The second half teaches them how to live it: unity and maturity, everyday holiness, family life, spiritual warfare.

Revelation 2: The Devastating Drift

Decades later, Jesus Himself addressed the Ephesian church. They had everything going for them:

• A powerful beginning in Acts 19
• Paul’s theological masterpiece to guide them
• Mary, the mother of Jesus, living among them
• The Apostle John as their pastor

Jesus commended their hard work, patient endurance, and doctrinal purity. By every external metric, they looked successful. Ministry was happening. Heresy was being fought. Programs were running. People were showing up.

But then came the devastating critique: “You have abandoned the love you had at first.”

Not “lost” like you misplaced your keys. “Abandoned” like you walked away from someone you once cherished.

Two Ways to Drift

There are two ways we abandon our first love:

1. Infidelity – falling in love with something lesser: comfort, approval, money, career, entertainment. It’s a slow and subtle drift.
2. Busyness – getting so busy working for Jesus that we forget to walk and talk with Jesus. It’s a slow and subtle drift.

The Ephesians went from burning magic scrolls in devotion to grinding through ministry with no heart left.

Maybe that’s some of us. Yes, life with God is a marathon with high moments and low moments, seasons of joy and sorrow. But here’s the key: Resting in God’s love for me keeps the marathon from becoming misery.

The Invitation

Jesus’ invitation isn’t to grit your teeth through the race. It’s to keep falling in love.

We fall in love with Christ by guarding our hearts through teaching, community, practice, the Holy Spirit, and by embracing both moments and marathons. Your vision of God’s loving grace determines the version of your life’s race.

The Ephesians had everything, and they still drifted. If it could happen to them, it can happen to us. But it doesn’t have to.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Too late. You’re done.” He says, “Remember. Repent. Return.”

Will you commit, over the long haul, to become peace by piece? Or will you become like the man in the painting?