There’s something that happens every time we go through a global crisis. Every time a big war starts, or we go through a global financial crisis or when we go through… you guessed it, a pandemic.

People start asking themselves and others if this is a sign of the apocalypse, the end of the world as we know it, the end of times… and more often than not we see a tsunami of bad theology being thrown at us, sparkling fear and terror instead of grace and hope.

So let me start by saying this: fear and terror are bad motivators. Very bad. They provoke an avalanche of guilt and shame and regret, but they often lead to temporary change and not lasting repentance. Once the feeling of fear is gone, so are the changes. Fear raises an unbalanced sense of urgency that is disconnected from reason and perspective… have you ever heard someone preaching out of the urgency of fear? Yes, it may be confused with passion but often it makes me feel for the person sharing… they need a hug, a cup of tea, they need love.

No, the urgency of the gospel is based on love. Love that is constant and while it may be awaken in times of crisis, it should be there at all times and under every circumstance. And talking about love, have you checked the very famous passage of Matthew 24?

Jesus had been asked about the signs for his return and the end of the world. So here is his answer:

There would be many coming in his name and claiming to be the Messiah; he also talks about wars and threats of war- with the advice that we shouldn’t panic then, because the end won’t follow immediately. He mentions nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom… famines and earthquakes… and that will be only the beginning. Jesus mentions quite clearly persecutions- which have happened throughout history and happens today. But then we come to verse 12…

¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

There it is. The one sign we should pay more attention to. Why? Well, you and I have little to do claiming to be the Messiah, hopefully. You and I we have little to do with starting wars. We have no much control about famines or earthquakes. You and I do have something in our hands about persecutions about Christians, but once again we don’t decide when they start or finish. But we do have a lot to do with love growing cold. Because if the love of the church goes cold… well, what hope is left?

We can talk for ages about the signs of love going cold in society. We can see how the value of life has diminished violently. We can see how greed has taken the priority in many aspects of life. But through history we have been called to love our neighbours, to love the church, to love the lost. In the darkest moments we are called to shine… and we are living such moments right now.

Some of us have to love others by staying inside, keeping ourselves and others safe. Some of us have to love others by making sure people are connected and cared for. Some of us have to love others by serving in different places that are necessary to keep society going.

All of us have to love others praying for one another, praying for our government at all levels, obeying what has been asked of us, praying for church leaders everywhere and finding creative ways to show love, care, grace and kindness.

If you want to accelerate the coming of Jesus, I suggest going to verse 14- preaching the Gospel everywhere! That’s in our hands, through praying, sending or going! So let’s keep love going hot, let’s keep our hearts warm, our words kind and our prayers on fire.

You are here for a reason. You are here for such a time like this. Let’s be who we need to be- the mission is not over!