Devotional Messages

Revelation 3:15-17 – “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (NRSV)

So often when we read scripture, we find it hard to relate to our lives, and we assume this is because there are 2000 or more years in between us. But what if the passage of time is not the culprit? If we read scripture with a perspective that takes into account our neighbors living in situations very different than our own, new significance can be found to things that don’t seem to connect to our own lives.

The biggest challenge for those of us trying to follow Christ, while living relatively comfortably, is complacency. Most of us don’t go around saying “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” like the church in Laodicea is accused of doing. But that’s because we live in a culture that convinces us that we never have enough. Meanwhile, our actions betray us. We do not live as though we need God. We claim to love God, but we don’t take time to listen to God. Meanwhile, we aren’t faced with the necessity of making sacrifices for our faith, so we don’t. We are lukewarm and oblivious to our spiritual neediness.

God offered the church in Laodicea “salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” Perhaps our salve is knowledge – connection with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world or neighbors living without shelter right around the corner, people whose lives reflect the sort of oppression and sacrifice and triumph over adversity that the biblical drama contains. Our communion with the global Body of Christ can enrich our communion with God, making our faith alight with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Collect for the Week: Gracious Holy Fire, whose light brings hope to all the earth, grant that our eyes might be opened and our faith made new, that we might live as unequivocal witnesses to your love in our world. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.