Matthew 24:10: “Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” 
Matthew 24:12: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold–“

This is already happening in the world today. The love of many has already grown cold, and many betray and hate one another. It’s not something we have to wait for or dread, it’s right in front of our eyes. 

“ENDURE TO THE END” IN A WORLD OF CHAOS

Just as we are reminded of the importance of staying calm and positive even in the darkest of times, so we must be reminded that world events of the end times and the people inside of them will get worse before they get better. We must be reminded that the ones “who endure to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

THE REALM HUMANITY IS IN LIMITS OUR PERSPECTIVE

What’s important about reminding ourselves of these Biblical verses is they all lead to one thing: Jesus’ Second Coming. He IS coming back, there’s no reason to doubt that. Not even the fact that it’s been over 2,000 years (human years) since we first read those words.

For God, a day is a thousand years, and a thousand years are a day, as we can recall (2 Peter 3:8). So 2,000 years doesn’t mean He’s not coming back. Instead, it’s a very painful reminder that we are feebly human and outside one of the realms God operates in. Meaning, it’s not that He’s taking His time, it’s that we don’t understand time from where He’s operating it. WE are operating within sinful flesh, a reality which makes our living experience (physical, mental, and spiritual) much more painful as our perspective is one of limited, narrow focus only on what our senses tell us, rather than what is beyond where and when we are in reality (that is, by comparison to God). Let this be what it needs to be: simply another reminder that no matter how many more days or years pass, Jesus’ return has not been cancelled or delayed— it’s just not time yet, until it is.

COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS IN A COLD WORLD

It’s hard to function (mentally or physically) in a society when people are cold at heart. How do we remain loving despite the coldness all around us? Not by ourselves. We need a community of believers who genuinely have the faith needed to be loving and compassionate. It’s incredibly easy to fall to bitterness, despair, depression or anxiety when people seem to be so far away from the kind of world we want to be a part of. But it’s an incentive to be the difference we want to see, the reflection of Christ that all true believers need to be an example of. Compassion, kindness, and grace do not disappear just because Christ hasn’t returned yet.

“TRUE BELIEVERS”

I wanted to write this because it’s important to remember, with all the chaos, war, and political damage that’s been done (and is still being done) in our world, that the people who consider themselves true believers of faith in Christ, do not lose hope.

What I mean by “true believers” are those who do not define their faith life merely by church attendance or the music they listen to. A true believer is a believer in every area of their life, and is working on including their faith in the areas they would admit are less than Godly. No one is perfect, but apart from loving people*, to be a Christian means living a life of Christ-like-ness (all the areas in our lives, from the cleanliness of our oral language to the way we drive, and the way we treat people behind closed doors. *And let’s remember the trademark Jesus said would tell that we are His disciples is that we love one another).

If we are surrendering our lives to Christ, there shouldn’t be any room left not to be reflecting Jesus to other people. No one has to have a loud-speaker telling crowds to repent “or else.” While loving others in bigger or more obvious ways isn’t undesired, what we need are people who are loving others in the simple, small, subtle ways (like volunteering, praying, and contributing to causes pointing back to a loving God—and not any personal agenda).

DON’T EXHAUST YOUR FAITH

Jesus never requested that we try to shake others into faith, but that we love others and share the Good News. That isn’t something we can force on anyone. That’s something we boldly yet thoughtfully plant or invite into someone’s life—someone who is seeking it. Those who seek will find, to those who knock the door will be opened. That’s why believers need to discern sharing the Good News with someone yearning for it (even if not so obviously) compared to someone who would be considered the “swine” in Scripture. We don’t want to waste time on those who laugh at the Word of God (unless they’re ready to be humbled). We share of our faith with look who desire a connection with God and just don’t know how to do it, or where to start.

EVERY DAY SITUATIONS ARE WHERE IT COUNTS

Believers, our world is growing colder and colder. It’s not as cold as it’s going to get, which means our standard of loving others in the name of Jesus can’t wane in response. If anything, society needs to see Jesus now more than ever, and it takes every single genuine follower of Christ to love each person looking to see if the hope of Christ is actually real. For many, it’s not about whether the Bible is legitimate or not, it’s really more about the love of God being displayed in every-day situations in which a believer has the blessed opportunity to do and be something more than himself/herself: a reflection of Jesus. Let’s be that today, tomorrow has worries of its own.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash