October 18, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Intensity of Faith”
Revelation 3:15-16
New International Version
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Being lukewarm can be a good thing. Who wants to take a shower that is either scalding hot or freezing cold? And baby's milk needs to be just right. But when it comes to lukewarm faith, Christ is plenty steamed that the disciples in Laodicea aren't more on fire! Despite employing hyperbole to suggest that he'd just as soon they were “cold," clearly Christ would not want them never to have been warmed by the gospel. What particularly Nauseates Christ is the Laodiceans' namby-pamby lack of commitment. Being lukewarm indicates that at some point they had experienced a measure of spiritual life, at least just enough to be useless! Just enough to be an embarrassment to the kingdom. Just enough to fool themselves into thinking that they were in a right relationship with God. But "just enough" is never enough! What Christ knows is that lukewarm disciples cannot possibly survive under the intense pressures of persecution or even life's ordinary challenges. Because Christ's revelation to John is about withstanding such onslaughts, this stinging letter to Laodicea is indeed a wake-up call! Lest you and I fall into the same trap, it is worth asking what made the Laodiceans so lukewarm? From all indications it was their abundance of material wealth. Rich by the world's standards, they had been robbed of their passion for Christ. Faith and “church" had become simply a soul-satisfying balm, a comfortable habit, a guilt-chasing solace. Yet the Lord was having none of it. Such faith is not just weak and inadequate, but cause for retching!
The gut-wrenching question is: Is the intensity of my faith sufficient to help me overcome whatever trials and temptations might come my way?
