“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds — and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25.

Love Growing Cold

The last of Jesus’ teaching is recorded in Matthew 24 and 25. His statements were prompted by the disciples pointing out the size of the stones used in the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. They had every right to be impressed. Most of the stones weighed between two and five tons. The biggest stone has been estimated to weigh 576 tons. In response to their fascination with what Herod the Great had done, Jesus said, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” It was a statement of complete conquest.

They assumed He was talking about His soon coming victory over the Romans and the restoration of Israel’s glory. They asked Him about the timing, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” In response, Jesus gave them a first-hand account of what the end of the age would be like — including this haunting statement regarding love:

“At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…”

The love of most will grow cold. It is a dire statement. It may help us understand the days we are living in and why the writer of Hebrews urges us to spur one another on to love — and all the more as you see the Day of His return approaching.

Love is in short supply these days. Pandemic protocols and political strife have driven wedges of division into every business, school, organization, and family. Even the church has not been spared. It’s been ugly. I have never been able to imagine a time when the love of most would grow cold, but maybe this is it. This is a prime time to talk about how we can spur one another on toward love.
Spur

Spur is translated from the Greek word paraxusmos. It means to stimulate or provoke, to literally jab someone, so they must respond. Spurring is easy to do. We all know how to jab someone to make them angry, right? Doing so almost seems natural — to some, even enjoyable.

If you want to spur me to anger, all you need to do is drive right up against my bumper in an effort to make me drive faster. Seeing you in my rearview mirror will guarantee I will drive slower. I keep thinking that someday I’ll get over this type of spurring, but at this point, it still ticks me off.
Misery Loves Company

When someone succeeds at spurring us toward anger, our reaction gives them exactly what they want — control. Miserable people feel better when they succeed at making others miserable.

However, nothing drives a miserable person crazier than when they fail at making you miserable. This is why Paul quoted Proverbs 25:21-22 in Romans 12:20, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” The Proverbs passage concludes by adding, “and the LORD will reward you.”

I don’t know about you, but I still have a lot of growing to do. I need spurring – and I’m guessing you do too. We can succeed at spurring one another on toward love, but unlike hate, spurring toward love requires:

Trust

We are free to love because God is the sole Judge and Avenger. In Romans 12:9, we read, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge, I will repay.’ says the Lord.” See also Deuteronomy 32:35. Do we fully trust that God will vindicate His people and that justice will prevail? If we do, then we are free to love wholeheartedly while letting go of the desire to exact revenge. Do you trust God? If you do, then you are free to love!

Purpose

Spurring is a purposeful, intentional activity. Anger floats naturally with the current. To get us moving in the right direction, we must be provoked, stimulated, and jabbed until we are willing to fight against the current and purposefully love. The means of God’s transformational grace (Word, Prayer, Spirit, Body, Mission), experienced in yielded humility and community, provides the spurring we need. This is why the Hebrew writer encourages us to keep meeting together. Listen closely; if we are not purposeful in our spurring, love will grow colder yet. We can’t let that happen.

Sacrifice

The most effective way to spur others on toward love is to love openly — to be the word love becomes flesh. See John 1:14. That’s what Jesus did, and He did it because someone had to make the first move toward love. See Romans 5:6-8. Now He is calling on you and me to do the same — to be the first to make the move toward love.

Loving first always requires sacrifice. See Matthew 5:43-48. When we love openly and sacrificially, others are spurred on to do the same. One sacrificial act of love can spur a powerful and far-reaching chain reaction.

Loving those who love us is easy – so easy, Jesus said even a pagan can do it. But if we’re going to love first, to love those who hate us, then it is going to require deep sacrifice. Christian, are you willing? By God’s Spirit and Word dwelling in you, you are able – but are you willing?

Friends, the love of most is growing cold. Now is the time to spur one another on toward love. Let’s do it today.