Lukewarm

In Revelation ch. 3:14ff, Jesus tells the church in Laodicea, "I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold! But b/c you are lukewarm- neither hot, nor cold- I am ready to spit you out of my mouth" (NCV).

I can understand why Jesus would want to spit a "lukewarm" church out of his mouth b/c, if you take the metaphor of water, lukewarm water doesn't taste good. And a lukewarm church isn't what Jesus wants. But what he does want is a church that is either hot or cold.

Why hot or cold? Well, keeping w/ the metaphor, water that is hot or cold is more useful than water that is lukewarm.

If you consider hot water, it can be used for cleaning wounds, scratches, and cuts. In other words, hot water can be the first thing that can help in the healing process. What if the church was the first thing in healing process for people? I mean, when the church is hot, we can be the first thing that helps people heal from their brokenness, hurts, and pain.

If you consider cold water, it can be a great source of refreshment. In fact, studies prove that runners who drink cold water before they run and while they are running, can run longer distances. Why? B/c it provides a refreshing boast of energy.
We live in a crazy, hurried, fast paced world and everyone needs a "cup of cold water" (Matt. 10:42). What if the church was the place that provided the much needed refreshment this world desparately needs? In other words, when a church is like cold water, it provides, not only the church, a refreshing boast of energy to help "us run the race that is before us and never give up" (Heb 12:1) but it also provides the world a new, refreshing look at what it means to follow Jesus.

So what will the church be? A hot, healing source for the broken and hurting or a cold, refreshing boast for the tired and burdened? Jesus gives us the choice in Revelation 3; we can be either hot or cold but may we never be lukewarm.

BW