So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16
The old barn was hot and dusty as we unloaded more hay into the mow. My mother wiped her brow and asked me to go to the house and bring her a drink of water. As a lad of seven or eight, I could get her some water, but instead of pumping some fresh water from the well, I simply grabbed a dipper of water from the pail that sat beside the kitchen sink. As I returned to the barn and handed it to my mother, she asked if I had gotten it from the well. My face fell as I realized that I should have done so. ‘Oh, well,’ she responded, ‘at least it will be wet.’ Although the water might quench her thirst, there was little real enjoyment in the drinking of it. In the same way, there was little real enjoyment by our Lord in the character of the Assembly in Laodicea. In there any real enjoyment by Him in the character of the Assembly of which we form a part?
It doesn’t take much effort to maintain anything at a lukewarm temperature. What we refer to as room temperature is lukewarm. If we were to bring a large block of ice into a warm room, the ice would soon make a difference in the condition of the room. Similarly, a powerful heater brought into a cool room will also quickly make an impact on the room. But if you bring something that is lukewarm into a room, nothing changes. The impact is negligable. No wonder the Lord was not happy with the Assembly in Laodicea; they were not having any impact on the community in which they were found. Their testimony was not attracting people to the Saviour. Their Gospel outreach was half-hearted at ineffective. Their worship was shallow and poorly prepared. Their ministry offered more entertainment value than challenges. We can understand the Lord’s disappointment in that Assembly. Can we understand His disappointment with our Assembly in all these things?
It is refreshing to see a young Christian who is excited about God’s salvation, God’s Word, and God’s Assembly. Such zeal and passion for the things of Christ can be a help to us who are a little further along the Christian pathway, and who are a little more settled into the ruts and routines that elevate us very little from the world around us.
There are many different foods and drinks that we would probably spit out if we were to be served them lukewarm. How can we expect God to take any relish in us if he finds us lukewarm all the time? -Jim MacIntosh