|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16
Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:12
Some view the Revelation message to the church in Laodicea as on overlay for the church in the end times. Because of wealth, faith will become lukewarm.
Jesus specifically states that the love of most will grow cold in the end times – a warning to you and to me!
If it happens to you, will you notice?
Years ago, a young man told me that he didn’t know if he loved his wife anymore. His love had become lukewarm for his spouse.
This was apparent. But I knew something else – he was having an affair.
Prior love grows cold with competing love; you can’t truly love two things, as great love has fidelity. Someone who doesn’t know what he loves is conflicted between two loves.
The church of 2019 had lots of competing loyalties. Crises reveal loyalties and 20 to 30 percent of the church attendance of 2019 has vacated in 2020.
Love growing cold can be difficult to discern.
Marriages fail because the participants do not see their love growing cold. Christians don’t decide to become lukewarm; they just slide from hot to cold.
An indicator of love growing cold is disenchantment. Okay, going bold with this: disenchantment… disenchantment… disenchantment!
Strong love begins to crack when the sins of others are noticed and not overwhelmed with grace. Husbands criticize their wives, wives criticize their husbands, and members complain about the church.
We get discouraged with God. We complain. We slide into disenchantment. We compromise!
The “woe is me” becomes prevalent and justifies the slide. The compromise must be justified by the faults of others.
Love cannot endure disenchantment without grace. When we lose grace with others, we see their sin and can’t see our own.
Love grows cold.
Jesus said, “Forgive and you will be forgiven!” (Matthew 6:14) The key to forgiveness is first recognizing your need for forgiveness. Grace received through your own forgiveness can then be extended to others.
Grace supernaturally enables us to experience, strengthen, and keep love hot.
It bothered me when the young man said he didn’t know whether he loved his wife anymore. It bothers me when someone criticizes the church about politics, roles of men and women, accusations of heresy, and more stupid things like whether to wear a mask.
Let me bold again: Grace… Grace… Grace!
Marriages are restored through forgiveness. Churches thrive in forgiveness. Disenchantment destroys the chance of forgiveness. Our criticisms become our truth… and conversation stops.
I couldn’t do anything with the young man. He divorced his wife, married another, and is now miserable in that marriage.
That’s the insidious nature of disenchantment – it makes everything worse, mostly because it makes us more unlovable.
Grace or Disenchantment?
Please choose forgiveness before love grows cold.