Give me a word, Lord: FEELING LUKEWARM?

Revelations 3:17 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. 

We stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast early this morning, and as I was asking the Lord to give me words to study and write about today, the church of Laodicea came to mind. It has to be a God thing. Who else can come up with this stuff?

We arrived at Waffle House and the restaurant was empty. It was early and still dark outside. The temperatures dropped last night, and it’s currently in the mid forties. All three employees were outside having a smoke break, but quickly finished up and returned to their stations before we got to the door. The cook was a middle aged man. He had two braids in his hair that fell just below his shoulders. He greeted us with smile, and exchanged pleasantries. The waitress was a good bit older. She was a frail looking, small little thing. The years had worn on her, and her face was laced with wrinkles of a hard life. The other waitress was a young, fluffy lady. She had a rather large white, bouffant hairdo. I’m not sure if it was a wig or not, but it didn’t look like it belonged to her. So here we have our three workers. They are near the end of their night shift. I’m sure they are tired, and they are probably ready to go home.

I bet you are thinking, “Okay, KK. What in the world does this have to do with the church of Laodicea?” I’m getting to that. It was their attitudes that brought it to my mind. The cook greeted us warmly. He wore a smile on his lips. He even danced as he cooked our meal, and he graciously placed our food on our table. Our waitress took our order. She was missing a smile. She was doing what she had to do, but she sure didn’t seem to be enjoying. Her affect was flat, unwelcoming. She was serving us, but she appeared to be just carrying out the motions. She definitely wasn’t enjoying herself. Finally, I noticed the other waitress with the white bouffant hair. She repeated that she was cold a couple of times. She took a seat at the far end table, and played on her phone. She made no effort to interact with anyone. She was just there.

So this morning at Waffle House, I saw the representation of three different images of spiritual behaviors. That last waitress represents a Christian that’s gone cold. She even repeated that she was cold a couple of times. Her attitude was cold, distant. She didn’t interact with anyone except her phone. There was no joy in her heart or her eyes. She was just cold. Cold is a very sad place to be when we are considering our relationship with Christ.

The lady that waited our table represents the lukewarm believer. She was there. She did what she had to do. There was no joy in her actions. There was no smile on her face. She was following the rules of her job, but she wasn’t giving it any extra umph. She didn’t really seem to care. She just seemed ready to go home and call it quits. She wasn’t cold, but she wasn’t hot. She was just lukewarm. It appeared that her fire had gone out many years ago.

The cook represented a believer in Christ. He was excited, happy, and on fire. He seemed so full of joy, and it was contagious. This is the person God desires for each of us to be. When strangers meet us. They should see the joy of Jesus within us. We should be reflecting Christ in our behavior and actions. One should be able to easily see that we are a child of God.

The church of Laodicea was lukewarm. They weren’t hot or cold. They were merely lukewarm. God said because they were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, that He would spit them out of His mouth. Unfortunately, I believe we all go through different phases of warmth, but prayerfully, each day of our walk with Christ, we become warmer and warmer until our hearts are on fire for Christ.

Remember the two men who were walking and talking on their way to Emmaus in Luke 24 just after the crucifixion. They were talking about all that occurred when Jesus began walking with them. It wasn’t until later that their eyes were opened to who Jesus was and, “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Can we not be like those men? Can our hearts not burn within us for Christ? Jesus is not physically walking beside us, but He is ever present. His Word should set us on fire each and every day. How can we live on fire for Christ? We can study His Word, talk to Him regularly, serve others gladly, and worship together in a Bible based church. Reflect the Son in all you do. Share the Gospel. Love God and love others. When you heart is full of Jesus, you can’t help but be on fire for Him! Now, go check your temperature. Don’t be cold. Don’t be lukewarm. Be on fire for Christ today and every day!