Saturday, May 30, 2009

Am I Lukewarm...like room temperature coffee?

I heard Vodie Baucham teach one time that our view of the "lukewarm" passage in Revelation 3 is often skewed in American/Western Culture churches.  He taught the crowd about how the idea of this idiom is not "straddling the fence" as we have come to know it...where you are either for God or against Him.  He taught that looking at the church of Laodicea (which the particular passage was addressing), they had everything accessible to them imagined as a trade city.  Except for a natural source of freshwater that had to be aquaducted to their location.  In other words, they had to find alternate ways to connect to a source of useful water.  Hot water for cleaning, healing, and such.  Cold water for refreshment.  When it was lukewarm water...it meant there was the problem with a connection to the source.

In other words, hot and cold had their uses, the lukewarm was not straddling the fence as we have coined the phrase, but was truly an unconnected person, either by unbelief, or by issues in their relationship with God.  I have never wanted to be lukewarm...but I have been so recently challenged in my personal walk with God.

I've been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  He has written in such a way about the Crazy, Overwhelming love of God in such a way that my heart is so refreshed, and now so...examined.  Now all of us have sinned and messed up in our lives at many points, but as believers are we passionately in pursuit of loving God, or just what God gives us?  (F. Chan paraphrase, not mine)

I think that it was a reminder of how complacent I can be at times, and i don't want that.  God knows i try to teach against such things.  But I found myself there.  I found myself...settling.  I found myself...selfish.  I found myself...needing Christ even more desperately than i could imagine in the beginning of my relationship with Him.  I need that connection that not only brings me closer to Him, but allows Him to use me in ways that benefit others.  

I don't want to be room temperature coffee that is left on my desk after a visit in my favorite java stop.  I want to be something bold from my Maker not just because it sounds good, but because I know...He really, boldly loves me.