Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.--Matthew 24:12

Yep it's happening now. People have become cold hearted and lack love toward their fellow man. When you see a lack of love the enemy is present.  What about us?   Are we demonstrating the love of God in our lives toward others?  In this area the bible is clear.

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”--Luke 10:25-27 (all caps portion quotes old testament)

There it is. Love your neighbor as yourself.  We all come to the place in God when we have to decide to obey or stay. Either we stay the same or obey God and give up our way for His.  Let me just take a page from my own life.  I was once prejudiced. That's right I didn't like white people at all. If you find that surprising you can praise God for the change in me. Anyway shortly after I received Jesus as my Lord in 1982, God used the person who led me to Jesus and the word to confront me in love.
 
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.--I John 4:20

I had to make a decision. I choose to obey God. I received forgiveness and a love for all regardless of race.  Now it wouldn't enter into my thoughts to prejudge someone that way. That was the old dead me. Yes there is still prejudice in the world, but not in my household. Thank God my son has no prejudice and embraces friendships with people of all races. This is because God changed his mother's heart, my son never knew that old dead part of me.

..and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.--Romans 5:5



It can be tempting to walk out of love.  A friend of mine says jokingly when tempted to blow his stack, "God just turn your head for a minute"  But he knows God doesn't give us a timeout no matter how much we wish He would. He never winks at our lack of love toward others.

Don't you know that the moment Jesus uttered the words "It is finished" and died on the cross God could have avenged Him. God could have destroyed every single person who raised a hand against his son Jesus. Every Roman soldier who hit him. The crowd that mocked Him. The people who spit on Jesus or hammered in the nails. Yet God let them live. Why?

But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.-- Luke 23:34


Jesus love is why, and it was clearly evident on that cross. So the next time you want to complain about a salesclerk, waitress,co-worker, boss, sibling, neighbor, parent, teacher, driver, friend, spouse, child, or whomever. Take a moment to ask yourself, is this a time when I can demonstrate God's love?  Or has my heart turned a little colder too.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. --I Corinthians 13:1-7