- COLD HEARTS - If you feel no love for God, you may well have a counterfeit form of godliness—a shell of the reality but no power of God. What do you do? Seek Jesus through his Word and his Spirit. Run to Jesus. The Spirit of God gives not only spiritual birth but also spiritual awakening. The Word of God not only brings about your first love of faith, but also the revival of your faith’s first love.

Hearts That Turn Cold and the God Who Revives

Kerry Stokes 

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  1 John 2:15-17 English Standard Version (ESV) 

John commands us not to love the world or the things of the world because if we do it means the love of the Father is not in us.

We don’t want to love the things of this world, rather we run to Jesus as our all-satisfying treasure.

Love Can Grow Cold

But what if your love for God has grown cold?

Verse 15 explains that lack of love for God is because love for the world has taken over the heart. Love for God begins to get choked out.

Remember, the love of the Father and the love of the world cannot coexist.

Verse 16 describes this “world” we are not to love. It is characterized by the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

In the first two of these characteristics, there is the common thirst for pleasure in something other than in God. They contain an expression of our neediness, but seek fulfillment in the world, not in God.

Both of the lusts are drives to seek fulfillment in what you do not have. The third description of boastful pride is the opposite, but just as sinful.

It is a pride in the things you do have. The world in all its cravings still boasts in its possessions.

What Do We Do About It?

So if you feel no love for God, you may well have a counterfeit form of godliness—a shell of the reality but no power of God.

What do you do? Seek Jesus through his Word and his Spirit.

Pray for new affections. What if you have some sense of assurance but your love for God has grown rock hard and icy cold?

Dissatisfaction of your cold love is often a motivation to seek God for personal revival and renewal.

Run to Jesus. The Spirit of God gives not only spiritual birth but also spiritual awakening.

The Word of God not only brings about your first love of faith, but also the revival of your faith’s first love.

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