I came across this in my Bible reading today:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 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. 21 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. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
This part of the book of Revelation is often forgotten: John receives a great vision from God, but he also begins the book with particular instructions and encouragements to seven different churches, all in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. The chastisements and praises are not part of the apocalyptic vision, and he’s not being incendiary for literary reasons. He’s really telling them: get it together. The letter to the church in Laodicea is particularly interesting, as he gets on them for just going through the motions. They are lukewarm. And this has distinct American parallels. They have prospered, they have all they need, so they feel pretty good about themselves – and that’s not the posture God commands for his people. Real wealth comes from the Lord, he says, and it’s not received just in comfort. Look at the verbs used – you will receive gold, but it’s been on fire, it’s been refined; you will be dressed in white but it’s to cover your shame and nakedness; you need salve for your eyes, an ointment, because your eyes have been pained.
The practical application is this: do hard things. Don’t let your life be easy. If you’ve been blessed with wealth: share it abundantly, and serve others. Get to know people who don’t have those riches and care deeply about them. Sacrifice your time and treasures for the Lord, so that it makes life a little more difficult. He’s not asking them to suffer unduly for no good reason – this is not self-hatred or rejectin