Matt 24:4-13
“Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.“
We have seen some astonishing, tragic headlines this year, and it’s only March! The world was stunned by the news of the compounding disasters occurring in Japan – first a monumental earthquake followed by a horrendously destructive tsunami only to be complicated by leaking radiation from an out- of-control nuclear reactor. Meanwhile, wars and rumors of wars flare up like wild fires throughout North Africa and the Middle East, complete with UN, European and American military involvement. Beyond these major events, are tragedies equally horrific including the cholera epidemic in Haiti, the famine in Africa, and human trafficking across the globe. It would seem that we are indeed, living in days described by Jesus in Matthew 24.
You can count in minutes, the amount of time it takes for some Christians to come out of the woodwork and confidently proclaim “God’s judgment” upon people groups, nations and the world following natural disasters. The only predictable thing about an earthquake, is that the doomsday prophets will no doubt surface before the day is over. When I read Matthew 24, I don’t quite see Jesus prophesying judgment against anyone, but rather preparing us to look for signs as we come to the end of this age. In fact, He encourages us not to be troubled by the crazy things going on around us, but recognize the times for what they are. Wasn’t that nice of Him to do? He cared enough about us to explain ahead of time, some of the scarier parts of life on this earth. When reading this portion of scripture, I am not so afraid of the major world catastrophes Jesus describes, as I am shaken by this one phrase: “the love of many will grow cold.” I hate how easy it is for “normal” Christians (like you or I), to declare love for God and yet at times, coldly disregard others. It bothers me that although I love my family and friends dearly, I still choose selfishness more than I choose selflessness. Some might confidently defend their strong opinion that God is judging the world through natural disasters, and even call their finger pointing “truly loving”, but I sincerely fear that we are, in our harsh declarations, demonstrating the fulfillment of verse 12 – “the love of many will grow cold.”
I don’t want to relax comfortably in my own opinion of myself and the degree of love I have in my heart, potentially being deceived, not realizing that this love is at risk of growing cold. I love my kids, sure – but do I love the kid who bullied my kids? I love my church friends, but do I love the visitor who sits in “my place” in the pew? Do I love the friend who forgot my birthday? Do I love the neighbor who ran over my cat? Do I love the one who hates me? Do I love in word, because that’s what Christians do – Or do I love in deed even when it hurts – when it’s inconvenient – when I must sacrifice? Do I love “to death”? Do I love like Jesus loves me?
Love that comes from our own emotional responses to friends and family feels nice and is quite natural, even a God-given gift, but I believe what we need is more than that. What we need, is God’s love – the supernatural stuff that makes normal people, love extraordinarily. We need fire. It’s the kind of love that doesn’t always make sense, but always produces life. The thing about this kind of love, is that you can’t “get it and keep it” by making one trip to an altar. Love’s not on a divine switch that you can turn on in one moment of time and never concern yourself with again. It’s the very substance of God poured out into the humble, ever seeking soul – like a supernatural intravenous line. Love like air, must be breathed in and out, in and out – moment by moment, day by day. It’s a perpetual cycle of receiving love, and giving it away and we don’t, in and of ourselves, have what it takes to keep that cycle going. We need to recognize our need. We need to tap into the RESOURCE of Heaven – God’s heart. Love is, after all, the fruit of the SPIRIT – not the fruit of our good intentions and hard work.
When I find myself easily offended – I need to run back to LOVE. When I choose to pursue my own ambitions above preferring others – I need to run back to LOVE. When I see the news, and witness profound tragedy and yet turn a deaf ear – I need to run back to LOVE. When I start taking salvation for granted and forget to show mercy to others who hurt or irritate me – I need to run back to LOVE. I need to run back to LOVE again and again and again…
The headlines are frightening. It’s hard to always explain and understand what’s going on but Jesus encouraged us not be troubled. I believe we also ought not rush to judgment as an explanation for troubling times. I think part of the reason we run quickly to simple spiritual conclusions is so that we can feel more comfortable with frightening world changes. I pray that these uncertain times would not drive us to human explanation as much as they would remind us to turn up the heat of true, Godly love. Don't let my love grow cold.
During these difficult days, may it be said of the Body of Christ, “There is love and rumors of love throughout the earth!”
"Love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22
