It is amazing to me, that sometimes we have a tendency to believe something, even when it doesn't make any sense. At Bible Conference today, Dr. Jeff Manning was preaching from Revelation 3:14-20. This is the passage that speaks about being lukewarm. Although I did appreciate his very graphic illustration of the results of food poisoning from eating at a Mexican restaurant (the 8 point hurl), the idea of being lukewarm was defined to me that relieved any doubt I may have had about this particular passage.
For some reason, when Revelation states that God will spew or vomit us out of His mouth because we are neither cold nor hot, but instead lukewarm, it always seemed like it was as if it was better to be a non-believer (i.e. cold) than it was to be lukewarm. Obviously hot would be a good thing because we envision being "on-fire" for the Lord. Yet it never occurred to me the senselessness of saying being lost was better than being between lost and "on fire". Dr. Manning offered an interpretation that the passage is describing three types of Christians: cold, hot, and lukewarm. Cold describes a christian that has the ability and personality that refreshes and revives, like a cold drink of water on a hot summer day. Hot describes those Christians that have an ability and personality to restore and heal, like a nice, long, hot shower when you have gone without one for a while. Lukewarm, on the other hand, is neither cold nor hot, but lies in between the two. These are Christians who have made a profession of faith and not much else. They do not exercise any effort to advance God's kingdom or serve His People, they simply exist. They get saved and set their "spiritual cruise control". They are lukewarm. This makes God sick (hence the graphic illustration).
Then it hit me, because a lot of times that described where I was. I was asking myself when was the last time I invited someone to church, or offered some counsel, or led someone to the Lord. I was immediately convicted because I know that so many times we hide behind our work schedules, home life and even our obligations at school to excuse ourselves from doing those things which we know that we ought to be doing.
The great thing about that passage is how it wraps up in verse 20. The Lord is knocking on the door and if we answer it we can have a wonderful fellowship with Him. Let's strive to be cold or hot. Let's make an effort to do what we ought to be doing. Let's serve.
