Good morning. Way back in my Minnesota Bible College days, one of the places of excitement around our small campus was the rack of mailboxes just outside of the college offices. College kids don’t usually have to worry about their mail being filled with bills or unwanted solicitations. Usually, when a college kid gets mail, the return address says that it is from mom and dad (please let there be a check in here!) The even more prized return address would say that the letter is from the guy or gal back home that said college student dreams of endlessly. Occasionally, such letters were not the joyous kind. The official title for those letters is “Dear John” or “Dear Jane,” you know the ones I am writing about.
Imagine for a moment you see that you have a letter in your mailbox, so you excitedly remove it and look at the return address. The first line reads: Jesus Christ. The second line says: Heaven. There is no zip code, but if there were I suppose it would be 00001.
When the apostle John, a man well along in years by this time, was taken into heaven for the purpose of writing down what he saw and heard so that he could report the good news of the heavenly realm to the Christians of every era, he was told by Jesus to write down some letters the Lord wanted delivered to churches.
One such letter was to the Christians in Laodicia. The Lord’s first words to that church were these: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16-16
I suppose that it is more comfortable for us to read that Jesus would “spit them out of His mouth,” but what the verb used means is “to vomit.” Jesus is telling that church that because they are lukewarm in their relationship with Him, He is sickened.
If this were a “Dear John” letter what would inevitably follow would be words that make it clear that whatever intimacy there had once been had now grown cold. “Thanks for the memories, but it is over.”
Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t write that kind of letter. Not to churches or to people. In fact, Jesus’ letter is just the opposite. Jesus goes on from those first words to explain to the Laodician Christians that He knows where their coolness is coming from. Their loss of heat, or perhaps we could say their lack of desire for intimacy in their relationship with Christ, is due to a false self-confidence. They had convinced themselves that they were special. They had come to believe that they could heal themselves and that their wealth would be enough to ensure their future. Jesus tells them that those ideas are dead wrong. They need Him. Without Him, they are nothing. Without Jesus, their future will be bleak indeed!
Jesus isn’t telling these Christians whose fire for Him had grown cold that “because He was sick about the situation, He was done with them.” “Good luck, but I’m done!” No, the words of Jesus are intended to bring about the opposite result. Jesus points out the problem, but He also tells them why He is doing so: Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:19
His words, this letter to a church that had grown cold in their desire for a meaningful and intimate relationship with Him, continued to be a love letter.
Jesus tells them that it is only because He loves them so completely that He is writing these words to gain their attention.
What would your reaction be if you received a letter from Jesus? “Wow! Wonderful! I have a letter from the one I love and the one I know loves me!” Or would your thoughts be “Oh, Oh, I’ve been wondering how long it would be before I got this letter from Him. I’ve known for a while now that my feelings have changed.”
I hope that it would be the former reaction. It should be, because Jesus is never going to give up on you. Jesus will never end things with you. If you feel that the fire in your relationship with Jesus isn’t what it used to be, you can be sure that problem of cooling is on your side not His, but don’t give up, get busy!
Jesus doesn’t give up. He closes His letter to the Laodician church, and to us, with this reminder: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 3:20-22
May your love catch fire today!
Vern