This passage is a portion from today’s reading, in Revelation 3:14-21 (USCCB version)
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this:
“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.
This passage is scary. It should strike fear into our hearts; the fear of God. Do we think we’re okay just because we sit in a pew on Sunday mornings? Do we think we’re “hot” because we pray before meals and grudgingly hand over our ten percent every month?
Have we become too comfortable in our affluence, in our position, and in our habits? Are we proud of ourselves, of what we have become? Have we forgotten that without Him, we are absolutely nothing?
We must be on our knees every day, imploring Him for his mercy and grace. Everything we are, everything we own, everything we know, can disappear in an instant. It is only because of His love that our heart takes the next beat…and the next…
Spending time with Him is how we keep ourselves from becoming lukewarm. If we are communicating with Him on a daily basis, He will show us how to remain “hot”, which means remaining in His will. We spend time with Him by reading his Word and praying daily.
Lord, I do not want to be spewn out of your mouth. Help me to never glory in myself, in what I have done, or in what I have become. Help me to thank You every day for Your presence and strength in my life. May I resist the sin of pride in everything I do. Give me the power to be the Victor so that I may spend eternity with You in heaven. Amen.