Are we growing cold?

The “reunion” gathering of Chinese families in the Lunar New Year holds at least one valuable principle for us--renewing ties in the family. Important as this may be, it is however more important for us to keep vibrant our ties and love with God our Father. This is not a seasonal requirement. We need to do it all the time.

It is natural, over time and distance, for our ties and relationships to grow, if not cold, at least lukewarm. Like the dying embers of a fire, we are prone to let our love for God grow cold. Jesus Christ has a warning for us. To the “church in Ephesus” He warns, “you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Rev 2:4)

Those are strong words. We need to take them seriously and we desperately need to do something about it.

We grow cold when sin does not convict us as it once did. Worship has lost its splendor, and we are complacent about our spiritual growth. We are happy just to drift along. Oh, you’re still sailing to that heavenly shore, but your waters have grown shallow and stagnate.

The people in the Old Testament had the same tendency. To Israel, God said, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness” (Jeremiah 2:2). Their bold declaration of commitment was slowly replaced by the cold silence of coexistence. The slow decline is not easily seen. A bride doesn’t go to sleep one night madly in love with her husband only to awake the next morning to forget his name. No, over time she becomes distracted, then disinterested, and then disdainful.

The journey of faith is not a pleasant stroll in a park. It never will be. We encounter valleys of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4); we meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). Even the great Apostle Paul had to overcome beatings, imprisonments, riots, etc. But he has this advice for us: “Press on” (Phil 3:12, 14). This means endurance and perseverance. It means to meet and overcome the challenge the difficulties pose without losing our trust in and love for God.

May this new year be one in which we will constantly grow our love for God.

Pastor Robert Chew