"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Matthew 24:12
Good morning, friends!
Sometimes, I get busy during my day, and feel the need for a "pick me up," so I make myself a cup of coffee. Many times the cup is not finished, and so I decide to put the cup in the microwave and heat it up later.
(P.S. On a side note, I cannot tell you the number of times I have heated up a cup of coffee in the microwave and have forgotten it. Many times I open the microwave to heat something for dinner, and exclaim, "So THAT's where my cup went.")
(P.P.S. You've probably done it, too.)
Of course, the reheated cup of coffee never tastes the same, does it? I'm not sure what changes. It's the same amount of coffee, milk, and sugar that I put in it when it was hot. Cooling off somehow changes a steaming mug of deliciousness to an unidentified greyish liquid that is more "ugh" than "yum."
Some of saddest verses in the Bible talk about Christians who were once walking hand in hand in faithful communion with the Lord, only to allow their energy, desire and love for the Lord to dwindle away. This verse in Matthew is one such verse: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
I did a little research into the expression, "wax cold." Apparently it is the idea of a gentle breeze that is deliberately applied to the cooling off of something. Imagine a mother gently blowing on a spoonful of soup before placing it in the child's mouth, and you get the idea.
In this verse, what is it that causes my love for the Lord to "wax cold?"
Iniquity. In other words, sin.
This passage reminds me that the hour is late, and the days are not getting better. The context reminds me that life on earth here for the Christian is going to keep getting harder.
One of the most deceptive aspects of sin is that many times the destructiveness of sin is very subtle to our eyes. We do not always notice the changes that are happening to the world around us, until we look back at the gradual shifting and wonder, "How did the world get like this?"
Many times I may look back in my life and wonder, "How did I get like this?"
The words of our Lord to the church of the Laodiceans is a constant wake up call to me: "So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16) I have explained this passage to my kids in this manner: "Our sinfulness makes God sick."
As much as I detest drinking lukewarm coffee, it is nothing compared to the Lord's reaction to my lukewarm attitude in serving Him.
May the Lord find my life scalding hot for Him today.
Iniquity. In other words, sin.
This passage reminds me that the hour is late, and the days are not getting better. The context reminds me that life on earth here for the Christian is going to keep getting harder.
One of the most deceptive aspects of sin is that many times the destructiveness of sin is very subtle to our eyes. We do not always notice the changes that are happening to the world around us, until we look back at the gradual shifting and wonder, "How did the world get like this?"
Many times I may look back in my life and wonder, "How did I get like this?"
The words of our Lord to the church of the Laodiceans is a constant wake up call to me: "So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16) I have explained this passage to my kids in this manner: "Our sinfulness makes God sick."
As much as I detest drinking lukewarm coffee, it is nothing compared to the Lord's reaction to my lukewarm attitude in serving Him.
May the Lord find my life scalding hot for Him today.
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