Where is our love?

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12
9 For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die;
But the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.
7 Go, eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
8 Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
11 I returned and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.
12 For man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
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What is wrong with people… Who? Us, Christians… Have we so lost our love? Have we grown so complacent in our comfort? Why is so much of His body held back by such a lack of devotion? When we want we think of nothing else. But when we receive we lose such interest as to be found lacking of the very same thing we craved so very much...
We think (there is the rub… thinking that is…) we are doing so well by wearing a shirt with His name or we are fighting because we hand out a tract. And these have their place but there is no excuse for our lack of sweat, our lack of pain, our lack of suffering for His name.
Why do we see persecution as receiving an un-favored look from someone who is less than a friend in the first place, or even a complete stranger. Whatever happened to the mentality of:
Matthew 10:34-39
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
NKJV
Is it even possible for us to understand, 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”?
“I have fought…” This would mean fighting took place. When!?! When will we fight for our right? In order to make this statement we must start fighting.
“… the good fight,…” Which side are you on? Are we fighting well? Are you giving your all-in-all?
“…I have finished the race,…” When are we going to enter the race? We cannot finish something we have not entered.
“… I have kept the faith…” This may be the most difficult one to answer for… if I have kept the faith would I even have to answer for the rest of the statement? If we had kept the faith would we have allowed the world to seduce and numb us with its comforts?
Where does all our fear stem from? Why are we so afraid to lose that which means nothing to begin with…
We are a nation of procrastinators and we tend not to act until it is actually a reaction. What would we be capable of if we were proactive. What if we were willing to lose our own lives even to the point of losing them? What if I were willing to lose my own life, to the point of losing it?
Where does our strength come from?
Psalm 111:2
2 The works of the Lord are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
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We should remember:
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
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When we feel weak and only remember only our failures we should remind ourselves:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
The Thorn in the Flesh
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
NKJV
His strength in our weakness, His sword, His breast plate, His helmet and so on. We are His soldiers. We are His pots to be molded. Does a pot claim it is not ready to be used or does the potter tell the pot what it is to be used for and when? And even before hand the pot is still clay, it knows it will be used and is ready.
I don’t know anything… Only He does. His ways are above our ways and I am lost without Him. My flesh is so weak, He must be my strength.
If my flesh is too weak to even pickup the sword how will I be trained to use it? How will I bear my cross when a splinter brings me to my knees?
How will I finish the race well if I am not encouraged by the prize?
It is discouraging to see how lost even our own little county is… I cannot even fathom the state, nation, hemisphere or world.
I know I am dragging on at this point so I only ask that you pray… and be ready to be used…
May God bless His body to do His work… Amen???

Final thought
If we love we must hate and if we hate we must do so in love:
2 Timothy 4:2
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
NKJV