Neither Cold nor Hot (Rev 3:15-16)

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 - Revelation 3:15-16

The Book of Revelation seems to show us a different side of Jesus as compared with the Gospels. In reality however, the character of Jesus remains the same throughout the entirety of the New Testament.

In the Gospels, Jesus was mainly preaching to people who were utterly lost in darkness and needed someone to save them. In Revelation, Jesus is speaking to established Christians - people who had already been transformed by Jesus and who had given their lives to Him.

Jesus changes His tone depending on who He is talking to, but His message never changes - "repent and believe the Gospel."

At first glance, it may seem puzzling that Jesus prefers "cold" to "lukewarm."

After all, lukewarm seems to be at least heading in the right direction.

If the goal is hot, then surely being lukewarm is better than being cold, right?

Wrong.

Being lukewarm is the most dangerous position to be in. Far more dangerous than blatant rejection.

The great 20th century American motivator Jim Rohn once said

It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.

Sometimes we don't know which path to take. We don't know what the right choice is. So we stand still, and do nothing, not realizing that doing nothing is a choice - and many times not a good one.

Of course, sometimes waiting is precisely the correct choice. But there comes a point when we have enough information to make a decision, and only out of fear or anxiety do we remain sitting on the fence - waiting for more information.

The irony is, the information we seek would be revealed to us if we just took a leap of faith in the direction we believe to be correct.

If we take a few steps in the right direction, we will likely soon be met with evidence that we have chosen wisely. If we take a few steps in the wrong direction, we will likely be met with evidence of the opposite sort. It's only when we stay in the middle that we remain stuck in analysis paralysis.

If you are lost in the woods and you are trying to draw nearer to a voice off in the distance, you will only know if you're getting closer by taking a step in any direction. If the voice gets quieter you have received valuable information, and you can now adjust your aim accordingly.

When it comes to Jesus, being lukewarm isn't an option. Being "moderately" submitted to Him simply is not a thing. No one who is moderately following Jesus is experiencing the life He describes and promises to His followers in the Gospels. And to never receive what someone promises to give you is a great way to lose faith in that person.

The reality is simply this: A moderately important Jesus does not exist. Therefore everyone who follows after this Jesus is following a figment of their own imagination.

Our imagination can take us many places - some good some bad. But Jesus Christ will only take us one place, and it is always Heaven.

This doesn't mean that the journey will be without tribulation and suffering - in fact He warns us that these things must come - but what it does mean is that suffering will never be the end of the story. When we follow Jesus all the way, He will lead us into new life.

But this life does not come except by death.

Resurrection does not come except by Crucifixion.

Jesus wants ALL of us. And it is only when we give Him our all, that He will give us everything our hearts and minds have ever longed for.

Image from Fr Lawrence Lew OP/Flickr

For whoever wants to save their life

will lose it,

But whoever loses their life for me

will find it.

Matt 16:25