A few weeks ago when I was in the middle of fixing breakfast, I grabbed my cup of coffee to take a big gulp. It took all my self-control not to run across the kitchen and spit out the coffee. It had cooled to such a temperature that it was no longer palatable. (That said, I do enjoy cold coffee on a hot summer’s day.). While I’m sure there some people who enjoy lukewarm coffee, for me there are few tastes more likely to make me feel a little bit nauseous.
In this message that the Apostle John delivered to the church in Laodicea, he speaks to the fact that this particular church’s actions had been lukewarm in showing their understanding of what it means to be a Christian. While we do not know exactly what their actions were, I can think of the many ways we fall into those same types of actions when we are neither hot nor cold in our faith. We go about our lives saying that we are Christians, but our actions do not reflect our beliefs about our relationship with God. I know that I fall into this category because there are some days when it’s hard to do what I know I’m supposed to do.
The challenge that God gives us is to have our deeds and our actions shine as examples of what it means to be followers of Christ. Though it may look different on any particular day, the heart of this calling is to allow our lives to reflect what Jesus called the two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.” When we inscribe these mitzvahs on our very hearts and souls, our deeds and actions will be pleasing to the Lord, and we will never find ourselves among those mere lukewarm believers.