FROZEN LOVE I N addition to the Great Tribulation being a time of persecution, the second sign given by the Lord Jesus Christ is that it Will be a time of great indifference. If we were looking for a popular title, we might well call this “Frozen Love.” One foreign translation really has this, “And their love will become refrigerated.” In Matthew 24:11 we read, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall de ceive many.” Earlier in this chapter the Lord warned against being de ceived by false teachers. Here again the caution sign is hoisted. All of us have a tendency to live by sight and not by faith. This is why it is so often difficult for you and me to grow in grace and in the knowl edge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If we can see a thing, we be lieve it. If we experience a thing, we know it to be true. But the things we can’t appreciate with the senses, we very rarely believe. Many times our experiences go contrary to the Word of God. Since we live in this world and God is in heaven, it is very diffi cult to bring our experience and God together. As a result, there are those who take advantage of our weakness. They know how to play on our doubts and to capitalize on our fears. Many times they do this for their own ad vantage. Thus we become deceived and are led astray. This is especially true in times of great persecution. When we are under tremendous pres sures, suffering great pain and an guish, we seek a way out. We may not even consider God’s Word. Our Lord here is bringing to mind that no matter how adverse the circum stances may be, we must always act in the light of His truth. The word “deceive” doesn’t suggest that we are going to be told a bold faced lie. Deception is so close to the truth that the real is hardly discem- able. We need to have spiritual dis
by Dr. Ralph L. Keiper
cernment sharpened by the Word of God. Otherwise we will become vic tims of this type of deception. Going on in our Lord’s Olivet Dis course, we find that following decep tion is another consequence. “And be cause iniquity shall abound (lawless ness shall increase), the love of many shall wax cold (freeze). Many times people profess a love for Lord Jesus not because of Him, but because of what they can receive from Him. There are many people who have the mistaken idea that God is some kind of a Santa Claus to whom we can come, ask favors, and expect that prayer is sort of a “sanctified gim mick.” When God doesn’t give us what we want, we become discouraged and disappointed. It is not long before He is abandoned. Recently there was a song from a famous Broadway musical that de scribes such an attitude. The words ran, “0 what a beautiful morning, 0 what a wonderful day, I have a mar velous feeling, everything’s going my way.” Notice the personal pronoun, “Everything’s going my way.” But when just the reverse happens the morning is no longer beautiful. We rather have a horrible feeling. We become blue and downhearted. Now if we truly know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we should have this attitude. The purpose of our salvation is not profit, but rather so that we might praise Him. In the Westminster Shorter Catech ism, the first question is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him (not to endure Him).” The song should be, “0 what a beautiful morning, 0 what wonder ful day, I have a glorious feeling, everything’s going His way.” When we have made this the principle of our life, no matter how adverse the circumstances may be, we will be the 11
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker