There is a loss of the desire to study him and to think of him and to reflect on him, a loss of personal devotion that melts the heart, with reflection, so that prayer time becomes almost a list of requests, earnestly meant, good requests, but without reflection and love expressed to Christ. It is amazing how it can happen.
There may be a loss of desire to shape ourselves so as to be well-pleasing to him, and we hang on to certain aspects of misconduct. There is a loss of obedience to him. In the first flush of conversion we would have done anything for him, and at that time people are very open and very ready to do whatever they ought to do. But then as life goes by, self-determination often creeps back in. ‘No, I have got to do this and this, for me, my family, my business life. I don’t have the time.’ There is a loss of obedience and readiness to serve him.
Also there is a loss of deep participation in worship, so that no longer does the heart go into the hymns and the prayers and the Scripture readings as it once did. There is a loss of desire to see him and to be with him. We get on with the present, we have got enough to do in this present life, and we are glad to think we are going to heaven, but we are not going to dwell on it and long for it and look forward to it. There is a loss of a longing that Christ would be vindicated.