first shared May 2020:
And because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold.
Matthew 24:12
If you look in the Greek text for the word love in the verse above you will see this is the word "agape" which is the word for Godly love.
From childhood on, I was taught many, many times this verse meant the world would grow colder. As a young woman, I did a Bible study that revealed the truth of this verse was far different than what I was being taught.
Think about it. The world doesn't have "godly" love.
Agape is the love the redeemed is to example.Jesus is saying the agape love of CHRISTIANS will grow colder.
It is chilling if you stop a second and think about the implications.
Agape is the love that the Holy Spirit gives those who are redeemed. (Romans 5:5-8) It is the love that not only allows, but compels, us as Christians to forgive and overlook the worst and example God's grace to those who have hurt us. It is the love the motivates us to give sacrificially. It is the love that makes us stand out as different from the world and gives testimony to what Jesus has done in our lives. If agape love is gone, we have lost our DIFFERENCE in this world. We no longer stand out to a lost world. That's tragic!
We must remember there is more to this life than what is visible right now and the stakes are very high.
Dear Reader, One thing I have been praying for is that as I grow older, I will grow stronger in godly love so I can be a beacon that points the way to Jesus. Let us pray for ourselves and each other that instead of growing cold in godly love, that God will have us grow bolder in His love so we can have a stronger testimony for His glory. He has done so very much for us and deserves our total commitment to Him. Let's run the race well!
John 5:1-3 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
I John 4:7-12 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
