Not Lukewarm
“‘Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.’”
Today’s Text: Matthew 24:1-14 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
May my love never grow cold. One of my favorite songs by Matt Redman is one that is not one that is so popular on the worship music charts, but it has always struck a chord in my heart.
When my heart runs dry
And there’s no song to sing
No holy melody
Or words of love withinI recall the height from which
This fragile heart has slipped
And I’ll remember YouI will turn back and do the things I used to do
For the love of You
But even in those moments when I may slip, I have confidence in the blood of my Lord, Jesus. I am counted among those who will be saved. And it is not because I stand firm to the end that I will be saved. But because I am saved through faith in Jesus Christ, I will stand firm to the end. He will make sure of that.
But the rubber really hits the road in verse 14. How eager am I for the end to come? Putting it like that sounds so tragic. What that question really means, though, is how eager am I for Jesus to return? Because Jesus will return only after the gospel of the kingdom has been preached in the whole world.
In other words, how eager am I for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached in the whole world? And do I have any part in that?
Well, yes. I certainly do. As followers of Jesus Christ, we all do.
And that does not mean that we are all called to be vocational missionaries, but then again, why not?! We are all called to support the missionary work of the church. And perhaps the most important thing anyone can do to support the missionary work of the church is to stir up missionary zeal in the congregations we call home.
Being passive spectators of the missions work in a church does not stir up missionary zeal, but engaging in the work and being active participants in the work does.
On the one hand, we must not put our trust in our own efforts to fulfill the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations. We must know and understand that Jesus is the One who will accomplish that work even if we refuse to participate.
On the other hand, we need to have a heart posture of recognizing that our efforts do really do matter. However, Jesus will accomplish that work through everyone who is actively following Him in that work, because they get it. Their love has not grown cold.
May our love never grow cold. May our love remain hot for Christ. May we turn back and do the things He calls us to do. For the love of Christ—because of His love.
Father, You are life and You are love. Forgive our “lukewarm-ness”. We know how much a lukewarm heart displeases You because it does nobody any good, even ourselves. But thank You for Your faithfulness. Change me. Change us. Make our love like ice to bring healing. Make our love like a hot sauna to bring relief and comfort. And come Lord Jesus. In Your precious name. Amen.
