Monday, December 12, 2011

Be What You Were Made to Be

Rev. 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (KJV) I'm thinking about Rev 3.16 this morning. The immediate inclination is to think of hot water as being a "hot" (vibrant, growing) Christian, and cold water to think of someone who acts like a Christian, but is not. This is not, however, what Christ means. He calls for the Laodiceans to be hot or cold. In other words he calls for them to be useful for what they were created to be. Hot water is great for bathing or drinking hot beverages. Cold water is great for refreshing oneself in the heat. Both types of water are useful depending upon their particular sphere and the situation. Lukewarm water is good for nothing. Christ seems to be saying, "Listen you Laodiceans, when you should be hot, you are lukewarm; when you should be cold you are lukewarm; you have a version of faith, but it is one which is not fully committed; not fully in. You are not being what you were created to be. So the obvious question is: "Am I a prracticing Laodicean? Do I have a form of the faith, but not the fire that ought to accompany it? Am I going through the motions of being a Christian, but without the power of the Holy Spirit present?

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