The Bible told us that love will grow cold, and loneliness will increase. The study below seems to point this out…… loneliness has increased from 3% to 12% in the last 30 years, and the number of friends that we have is decreasing as well:
The Number of Close Friendships That Americans Have Has Declined Over the Past Several Decades
Percentage of Americans who say they have the following number of close friends, not counting their relatives . . .
1990 2021
No Friends 3% 12%
10 Friends 33% 13%
Note: Figure does not include respondents who answered “don’t know” or “refused”. Survey of US adults [N=2,019]. The Gallup survey was conducted over the telephone.Source:?American Perspectives Survey, May 2021; Gallup, 1990.
Loneliness has also taken it’s toll in churches and people are walking away…..because they have not “found God” and they have not found any friends. We have lost roughly 20% in that same 30 year period.
Jesus gave us the two part solution to the problem before he left this world. He told us to “Love one another” and to “wait for the Holy Spirit, and we would receive power”. The two go together….love and the Holy Spirit. Love is a conduit for the Holy Spirit, and it’s the conduit that the Holy Spirit uses in our daily lives when we speak to others. Because it touches their heart and changes them.
When wickedness increases and we quit reaching out to one another….that anointing will be gone and love will grow cold.
BUT – You and I aren’t there right now.
We just have a lot of people that are lonely and do not know Jesus.
Out of politeness, we have stayed silent.
Out of love, we can stay silent no more.
I really like the painting above….the shepherd is carrying hay on his back to feed his sheep in the winter. He is doing it because he cares. That’s the season we are in ….and it tells us what we need to be doing.
For you and I,….Love is not growing cold, in fact…..it’s the fire that keeps us going.
SELAH
SCRIPTURES:
Matthew 24:12
Daniel 12:7
John 13:34-35
Acts 1:8
2 Timothy 1:6-7
PRAYER FOCUS: The sheep in my pasture.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God did not give me a spirit of fear or timidness ….He gave me a spirit of power, of love, and of self control.
~ Written by Gene Bennett