Cold Love: When the Love Of Most Grows Cold
In my last few posts I have been discussing revival as it relates to Love. I’ve sought the Lord about this and feel like He’s revealed a huge assault on our experience of revival. Most Christians know that unless we experience a revival in this world, we will never see change. We are not going to vote in change, change is going to happen through revival. And I showed how loving our neighbor is just as important as our renewed love for God. The two great commandments that encapsulate the whole of the Law and the Prophets is to Love the Lord your God and to Love your neighbor as yourself. I can’t have One without the other.
Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8 GW
I see the biggest hindrance to an end time revival is cold love.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of most will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Matthew 24:12-13
Cold Love in A Crazy World
Our world seems to be on a crazy train where lawlessness is exponentially leaping beyond all of our previous bounds. And in the middle of our greatest need for revival, the enemy is assaulting us from within our own hearts. He knows that unless we have love for one another, we will never see revival. What better way to prevent this than to tempt us towards cold love.
“For the love of most shall wax cold.” The love that Christ refers to here is AGAPE love – God-sourced love. And because of the increase of wickedness, those who should have God-sourced love will wane, but he who endures (in love) until the end will be saved.
Wickedness rises when those who should love, resort to self-protection instead. It’s self-love to self-protect, and I say this as one who has in the past closed the doors of my heart to not be hurt again. But this is not God; on the contrary, it is satanic hatred. I have learned that I can’t close off my heart to the world in self-protection and not also close it off to God, who created that world. Unfortunately, when I do this, I begin to accuse and hate Him as the source of the problems. Only with an open loving heart can I face a fallen world with His grace. While everything in me says, “Protect, retreat, fortress!” the actual solution is to open up and love.
Cold Love a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction)
Do you see why cold love is such an effective weapon of mass destruction? If the devil can get me to close off my heart and allow it to become cold, then I will be a tool that prevents revival rather than receiving it. I have to be open to loving, both God and others, for revival to come because love is so present in revival. If I am in the cold love of self-love, I prevent that revival from coming through me and touching those around me.
Revival is LOVE and revival brings love to the front. Revival brings abounding love for God and open love for others. I might be tempted to withhold my love, prevent my love from happening, and remain safe in a loveless corner, but only Love sees revival. As scary as love is to embrace, being loveless is so much more frightening!
It’s what is in our hearts that finds expression. The self-protection of self-love doesn’t keep us from hurt, it brings it. God’s Love is demonstration, a focus on the Lord & a choice of His Love. It’s a powerful force of drawing. Hate’s fight, shuts heart’s. Love is a Breath that can be taken in. His boundless Love knows just how to come, & heads straight for the heart. I know what it is to close my heart… Love sets is free till we want that Love to be met everywhere we go! Change comes to hearts, in Love. To… Read more »
Indifference ices us. To gain indifference is why the world runs to ‘drugs’ of every conceivable lusting indulgence…to not experience ‘need’, cover it, conquer it, numb it. To offer ‘self’ is cold love. Cold love has no sight of the depth of need….the Only Solution, the Love of God, poured out, wrung out, through hearts open to His flood of Love. Whimpering, simpering, wretched need, is the pit of ‘inspiration’ feeding anger, hatred, excuse, accusation; & the ‘answers’, that in the end will start the cycle again, or numb us into ‘self’…about self, for self..a dead end. It can’t keep… Read more »
So this world of sin is the line drawn between us. On one side cold love, on the other… Lovers.
It will be impossible for us not to recognize each other.
It is a process filled with pain, but the outcome is WHOM we want more…
WOW this has been the theme that Jesus has had me on for days and then I see this in my Inbox today. It is so TRUE! End times is upon us in full swing and you’re absolutely correct….the enemy does NOT want us to love this cynical doubting generation. We must not let our love grow cold. We must guard our love for Jesus fiercely and call on His Name to fill us daily. Then our cries for revival WILL be answered. He will not abandon us. If me people who are called by My Name…you all know the… Read more »
This reminds me of a line from a song the Imperials used to sing. “6 foot 6, stood on the ground, but I saw that giant of a man brought down to his knees by love.” Truly love does conquer all.
Isn’t that the truth! I know I was. Love you Wanda.
Amen Amen and Amen John!
Nice to hear from you Lynn. Praying all is well with you! Blessings
I choose love! The lawlessness leads to self protection, and also unforgiving, right? When I don’t forgive the lawlessness, then I can’t love. Remembering my own sin (lawlessness) is the way I can have a heart for someone else’s mess. It reminds me of the end of Malachi when the hearts of fathers will return to their children, and the children to their fathers.
Yes self-protection and the associated unforgiveness is how we cope when we refuse to love. It is a dangerous business, isn’t it! It is only the Lord who will turn the heart. And yes Malachi is a perfect example of this. Love you Alex!
[…] author, John Enslow, titled, “Love Brings in Revival or It’s Nothing,” and “Cold Love Prevents Revival,” published in 2016. You can click on either title above to read the entire posts. I’m […]
John, in order for me to AGAPE love, one thing must happen. I must suffer injustice… Isn’t that why AGAPE love exists?!
But if cold love is my reaction, then isn’t it because I’m seeing the injustice I suffer as a sin committed against me when it’s really against God that we sin…
Since self-love is hating God, then having no revival is me still wanting to take His place and I’m just another thief hanging on the left side of Jesus…
As I was reading this blog the Lord opened my eyes to an area in my life where I am self protecting. Thank you Jesus! I love it when He speaks clearly to me as I read these blogs. Get A With God is a huge blessing in my life! Thank you John!
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