In Jesus’ message to the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), He does not have one word of commendation for them. It is ironic because they boasted of their riches and material possessions, which, no doubt, they interpreted as being a sign of God’s blessing. On the contrary, this congregation that embraced a “health and wealth” heresy was diagnosed by The Great Physician as being “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked”.
Once again we learn that it is not how we see ourselves or our church that matters, but how The Lord of Glory sees us. It is possible for a person or a church to have all of the external evidences of life and yet be a complete stranger to the true life of Christ in the heart (Isaiah 29:13; Mark 7:6-7). A church can have programs and social events wrapped in Christian verbiage and still be lifeless on the inside. This is nominal, unregenerate Christendom today.
Interestingly, Jesus does not say that this church is dead, but He says they are “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16). The word lukewarm can also mean tepid. Nothing moved them anymore. There was no passion in their praying or worship. No sense of urgency in their evangelistic efforts. No conviction of sin or stirring of the heart or the will as far as spiritual things were concerned. And yet, they “went” to church. A church by the way that does not even know that Jesus is not inside their sanctuary! He is on the outside seeking entrance into it. How terrifying it is to know that this is a real congregation made up of real people who really think that everything is okay between them and Jesus because of what is on the outside! Nevertheless, Jesus in His tremendous grace and love doesn’t let this church simply roll over and die. He calls them to repentance and a renewed zeal for Him. While this letter is being read to them, Jesus is standing and knocking on the door of their hearts, and pleading with them to open up to Him and enter into a life of real fellowship (vv 19,20).
However, it is not enough to acknowledge that Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. The proper thing to do is to answer the door and let Him in to do what He desires with your life. Remember, Jesus can open and close doors at will (Revelation 3:7b), but He leaves the opening of your heart up to you.
Where is your heart this morning? What are the most important things in your life? When was the last time you were concerned about spiritual things? Jesus can and does know when we mean business with Him, but He refuses to play the game of “church” with people who are indifferent to His truth. May God Almighty grant us the heart passion for Him and His work that moves us to action for His glory!
