Matthew 24:12 “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold”
Australians are known for having an unreasonable fear of emotion in exercising their spiritual faith. This is in spite the fact that they frequently overindulge during football games. When questions of meaning and conviction arise, our biggest dread of emotional exhibition surfaces. For instance, I have yet to witness a sizable gathering of Australians perform the National Anthem with emotion. It has also come to my attention that guys are particularly uneasy at funerals. They fear being detected crying, for fear it is seen as weakness.
Why is it we won’t allow ourselves much enthusiasm when it comes to topics of great consequence? This oddity was brought into focus clearly during the charismatic movement in Church in the 1970’s. They have proven that expressing one’s deep emotions in matters of faith is perfectly acceptable.
Do we want to keep enthusiasm and our faith apart because showing our passion to others indicates that we have everything riding on the issues that are very important to us? Are we worried that our cause won’t succeed, that our zeal will still make us look foolish, or that our faith won’t materialise into sight? Do we not want the world to know how strong our beliefs are?
Exhibiting enthusiasm is akin to promoting one’s desires, principles, and aspirations. This requires guts! Detachment has less hazards. Being attached makes you vulnerable. A life devoid of passion could be comparatively secure -secure in the knowledge that death is an impossibility without living. There can never be new life without urgency and desire. No babies are born without passion. Poetry cannot be created without passion or excitement. Excellent music requires arousal to be present.
Our emotions are what transform a lifeless, colourless existence into one that is vibrant and warm. Involvement yields the best insights in life. I have to be involved in someone’s life in order to genuinely know them. The woman who loves her man knows aspects of his personality that are hidden from others who do not care as she does.
Peter was able to finally ‘see’ who Jesus truly was because of his passionate love for Him. Christ never invited the disciples to a scholarly investigation of His person. He asked them to follow Him. It was in the intimacy of His fellowship that they discerned Him. A Christian is a very ‘uncool’ individual who has fallen head-over-heels in love with Christ and doesn’t care who knows it. This is not cold detachment – this is a relationship; robust, heated, extravagant!
The love of God is the greatest thing in the world. Yet we can let it grow cold in us. For this reason, we need to meet regularly, to keep love warm. How inspiring it is to see a man and a woman, married for many years, who still cannot stop thinking about each other; who, instead of being jaded by years of living together, have maintained the glow. Their faces light up each time they see each other. So, it should be with Christians and their Lord.