Along with the other prophecies of Jesus about the end times in the Bible, there is one sign we should all keep in mind.
No, this is not about earthquakes and wars. This is not about the heavenly bodies falling from the sky. This one seems much more subtle, but is in truth more deserving of our attention and prayers.
“Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.” — Matthew 24:12, WEBBE
What does it mean? How would we know if our hearts have grown cold?
In our time today, we often hear people speak about love. Love, peace and being kind are very common messages we read daily on the internet. We watch movies about love and read books about love. We pray for love and ask for love and dream of that special kind of love to come our way.
Is it possible for our world to grow cold in matters of love?
I think the answer would be, “Yes!”
Yes, because the world is gradually forgetting about God. Yes, because without God, we also forget the true meaning of love. And yes, because we live at a time that no longer cares about truth, and without truth, we no longer know how to seek for love.
We see it everywhere. Broken marriages, betrayals, toxic relationships that fail us again and again. Devotion is dying and commitment is passing away. Pleasure is taking the place of love in the lives of men.
You feel it everywhere. People talking behind your back. People spreading false information and slandering their neighbors. Gossips destroying countless lives.
It is no wonder then that even the sacredness of human life is being desecrated. In a world that no longer knows what love is, how could it even see the worth of a human life?
People are dying and people are being killed. Young people live such empty lives that they succumb to false ideas they’ve only read on their computer screens.
And we ask ourselves, “Why have the hearts of many grown cold?”
Hearts have grown cold because we have given up God for the world. Hearts have grown cold because we live at a time when the best measure of loving another person is taking away their pain.
We have lost the ability to suffer, to endure and to overcome. We have lost it when we have lost the very reason why we can suffer. Isn’t it true that we can only endure if we have something far greater than our pain?
But if we can no longer see eternity, and all that we know is the brief moment we walk upon the earth, how could we even understand the enduring quality of love?
Without God and eternal life, all that we can ever have is a pale copy of love.
A love that can be happy, but can never find joy. A love that can give, but not to the extent of sacrifice.
While we still have time, let us give our hearts to Him who alone can rekindle the love that has grown cold. Let us trust Him even when the way is hard and the path is painful. Perhaps the very difficulty of the path may heal the numbness of our hearts and through our wounds, the Light of His countenance can again enter into our souls.
“‘Take this ring, Master,’ he said, ‘for your labours will be heavy; but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself. For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill.’” — J.R.R.Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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The world has abandoned God, it is up to us to help rekindle the faith.