Revelation 3:15 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot!" A very well quoted scripture about being one thing or the other. This scripture speaks to the church at Laodecia and that church was a precursor to the Christianity we see in our modern day world in America. This is the Church of the Unholy Apathy! Apathy - (def) absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. We live in an apathetic world. Why is it that way? Because we have made it that way. Our lukewarm pursuit of the ways of God has allowed our personal lives, our churches, and our world to "slide" down a slippery slope to mediocrity and uselessness. Our weak position on life in general is the very thing that keeps us in the ditch, to which we have fallen. And yet, we don't even realize the problem that keeps us in the ditch because our perspective is totally off. Years ago in a small town I grew up in there was a man who walked everywhere he went. If you were out and traveling around town, you would see this man walking at a very quick pace. When I saw him I thought he was lacking a little mentally and never gave him much consideration. One time I was out on the bypass that circled that community and to my surprise there he was, walking around the bypass at a very quick pace. I never saw him in a car or on a bike. He was always walking, and he was good at it. The town I lived in was about two hours away from a major city that we travelled to from time to time and there was a four lane interstate highway to get there. It took two hours if you averaged around 70 miles per hour. The story came back from someone who was traveling to that city that about 45 minutes into his trip he noticed someone walking on the shoulder beside the interstate. To his surprise, it was the man I described earlier in my blog post. He said the man was still making a very quick pace and he thought he would stop and offer him a ride. When he stopped, he had the man come over to the car and he said, "Hey, where are you going?" The man stopped walking and came up to his car and said, "I am going to (name of city). The man in the car said, "Can I give you a ride?" The walking man turned away and took off walking and said, "No, I'm in a hurry!" As hilarious as that sounds, it shows just how much a person with a passion for something doesn't let other things distract them from reaching their goal. Are you on a journey with a passion that drives you and keeps you at a quick pace until you reach your destination or are you just kind of wandering around looking at the scenery? If you aren't moving forward in your faith, and you are just going through the motions with no direction or commitment, you are lukewarm.
When you are lukewarm you are in the way of someone who is going somewhere and now you are part of the problem. Another thing that happens when you are lukewarm is that your lifestyle is contagious in a bad way. Other people catch your lukewarmness and then they become that way!! Now you are making disciples of lukewarmness and that is causing more problems.
Solution one- Repent! Get a conviction about something. It's easy for Christians to get a conviction because it is supposed to be our goal to reach the world for Christ. Start on that one and it will keep you busy for a long time.
Solution two - Hang around "people of passion" and let them influence you in the right way and get active.
Solution three - Do not let apathetic, indifferent, weak people be your role models. It is time to "cut the string" and change your friendship base to people of purpose and direction. You will feed off of each other and you will become very strong and purpose driven as a group and make a bigger impact.
Solution four - Cull the things in life that drag you down and keep you from being effective in your life ministry. Be more focused on Jesus and what He wants and let the Word of God be your energy shot.
In Revelation 3:17-19 the Word of God puts an emphatic exclamation mark on the whole thing by saying this, 17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
Open your eyes and see that God is still in the business of changing lives and He wants to start with yours and then everyone you influence from there on. Be a part of the solution by being actively involved with an active faith.
The Pilgrimage continues...
David Warren
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