Before I get into Revelation, just wanted to say the party for our son's graduation was fun! He didn't want a huge deal, so we just had friends over for burgers and dogs, and of course cake. God heard my prayers--fairly desperate, I must say, since it rained all morning!--and cleared the sky and gave us a gorgeous evening! Yay!
OK. On to Revelation.
Chapter 3, verses 15 & 16 say:
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Remember that these are Jesus' words to the Church in Laodicea. And also remember what he says to us at the end of this letter: "He who has an ear..." Which means he's talking to us, too.
What do you think of when you hear the term "lukewarm" in reference to a person?
I think of someone who is passionless. Someone who has no strong feelings or opinions about anything of importance. Clearly, this is not what God wants from us when it comes to our faith in Him!! God was so passionate about us that he gave us his one and only Son! That is as far from lukewarm love as you can get! So because God has such passion for us, don't you think it makes sense that he would want that same kind of passion from us?
"Because you are lukewarm...I am about to spit you out of my mouth." v. 16 NIV
Apparently the Greek word used here actually means "vomit." Jesus--God--is so disgusted with the lukewarm faith of the people in this church, that he is going to vomit them out of his holy presence. Think about when you've had the stomach flu or food poisoning. Pretty picture, eh? Well, that's what we are to God when our faith in him is lukewarm.
So, were these people even Christians?
The clue to the answer to that question comes in verse 20.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
Jesus is knocking on the door. What does that mean? It means he's outside. They haven't invited him in yet. Sound familiar? There are many, many people who wear the name "Christian" yet do not have Christ in their hearts. Churches are filled with them. Some pulpits are, too. They haven't opened the door. Jesus is still on the outside of their lives and hearts. You've seen them. I've seen them. I was one of them years ago.
The prayer of my heart today and all my tomorrows is that I will never be a lukewarm follower of Jesus Christ! My passion is for him. I am not perfect and I'll make mistakes, but I pray I will never, never be found guilty of being lukewarm!!
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5:01 PM
Just ran across this news story. Very sad and very pathetic that a civilized country like Ireland continues to be divided by religion. Christianity! Both sides--Protestant and Catholic--claim to have a belief in Jesus Christ. This is a perfect example of the type of thing that will make God vomit!
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