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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Last Days... (serious post without pics)

Unfortunately, the events of recent days in my life have brought an increased awareness of how we are living in the last days...

11And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:11-13

I always knew that this world wasn't a "safe" place for those who would follow hard after God. But I am such an idealist who "believes the best" about everyone (to a fault at times and the wisdom of the years has helped me to be more discerning) and so I naively believed that those that have been my good friends would stay "true" to Him. In the recent knowledge that a good friend has turned away from Christ, I have been reflecting a lot on these days in which we live and the phrase from the above passage the love of many will grow cold has struck a deep chord within me.

How does our love grow cold? This passage begins by warning of false prophets who arise and lead many astray...But, is it because they are led astray that their love grows cold, or is it the other way around? I have to believe that love slowly grows colder from its white hot "on fire" state and then we open ourself up to a wayward heart and in thus losing the clarity of the Voice of the Great Shepherd we are prey to wolves.

There is also the suggestion of lawlessness and the same question arises: Does lawlessness cause love to grow cold or does love (slowly) growing cold(er) breed lawlessness? Again, I believe it is the latter especially when one considers how Christ declared the greatest commandment to be "to LOVE the Lord Our God with all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength...". So, letting love grow cold takes all meaning out of the law of God given out of His great love for us as He faithfully parents us as we are strangers and aliens in this world.

And so how do we avoid our love growing cold? While the disciplines of relationship (such as a marriage) are such an element of it, just as a marriage isn't bound by its disciplines, neither is our love for God. We surrender ourselves to the God supremely displayed in Christ and purpose to keep Him who walked in this perilous world and faced it head on to redeem every last bit of us-- ever before us. We take long looks at a Saviour whose love for us is not an infinite pile of wishful thinking, but rather, God in all his holiness coming to us and being sufficient for every broken place both within us and displayed around us. We ask Him to shine the light on every dark place knowing that His power and love are greater than a darkness that cannot understand Him and that he will take our darkness and make it wholly His and holy indeed. We gaze upon Him ever more and allow His voice to speak clearly above the inundating noise of this world. We also allow Him to be God and to hold for Heaven mysteries that we aren't meant to understand here and now, but simply trust...

It is my deepest prayer as I walk these days, for all I have loved and known a sweet fellowship in Christ with, that you would "endure to the end" as you gaze ever upon Him.

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