Daily Scripture
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Revelation 3:14-22
Daily Devotion
Why does Jesus despise lukewarmness so much? When you are lukewarm, you act indifferent. The church of Laodicea had people who were going through the motions and acting half-heartedly in their relationship with Christ. They were neither passionate about Jesus nor were they out right rejecting His name. Lukewarm people go throughout their lives being both somewhat influenced by Jesus’ teachings but also not very enthused by Him at all. How is this possible? How can someone both believe but also want nothing to do with a true relationship with Christ? When we read verses 15 and 16, we come to understand that Jesus wants nothing to do with someone of lukewarmness, even to the point of spitting us out of his mouth. I can’t think of anything worse than Jesus wanting nothing to do with me. We must be completely for Him, accepting His salvation and enjoying His blessings forever. Superficialness has no room in a relationship with Jesus.
Going on in verse 17, we see what it means to be spiritually ignorant. If we act as though we are self-satisfied, we believe we do not need anything. However, Jesus sees us for who we truly are, “...wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” If the people of the church begin to self-evaluate and realize they do in fact need Jesus, they can avoid being spewed out of his mouth. I am thankful that Jesus wants to cover us with righteousness and remove our wretchedness and poverty.
God’s love ultimately leads to discipline. As we know, if we think we have no needs and can do it on our own, we are destined to be spit out. However, if we are “zealous and repent,” we can count on God to supply our needs. Even better, we are in constant fellowship with our Lord and are promised eternity in His presence.
I challenge you to self-evaluate your relationship with Jesus. Are you going through the motions of church? Does His truth guide your life? Or do you remain uninfluenced by our creator? Living a lukewarm life is not sustainable. We are fooling ourselves if we believe God won’t notice we are not truly living for Him. I pray that as a church, we continue to remain zealously dependent on God! I am thankful to be a part of a church that lives and loves like Jesus.
Elise Jones Williams