Eerie Times

One of the most chilling scenes in the Gospel story is Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Time and again He called His people back to Himself. Yet, the writers often show that even His own did not receive Him. With tears in His eyes and a lump in His throat, He says:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Jesus wasn’t only weeping over their rejection. He was weeping over their coming doom. A doom of their own making. A doom rooted in sin. The very power pulling them away from God.

His warning in Matthew 24:10–13 rings eerily true today: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other… Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

That eeriness feels thick now. Hatred and bigotry run rampant. Hearts are colder. Divisions are sharper. And where are the Christians? Some say we’re the ones deepening the divide. Still, Christ’s call is clear: “Stand firm to the end.”

But Christ doesn’t ask us to stand firm on opinions, preferences, or half-truths. He calls us to stand firm on love. Love for neighbor. Love for God. Even love for enemies. For only love can subdue the power of sin.

So how do we respond to these times? Love. Unapologetic, unadulterated, unashamed love. For in the end, these are the ones who will be saved.

- Pastor Rhidge