I've been reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. Today, I read a chapter about lukewarm Christians and it really made me think...Has my relationship with God changed the way I live? Do people see evidence of God's kingdom in my life through the way I dress, the way I act and talk, the movies I watch, the music I listen to... Am I satisfied with being "godly enough to get to Heaven?" When we really start reading the Bible, we realize that God doesn't want us to to live for Him merely to escape hell when we die. He wants us to be totally in love with Him and willing to sacrifice to preserve a relationship with Him. I read the following passages about lukewarm people this morning:
Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. According to Isaiah 29:13, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship to me is made up only of rules taught by men."
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living.
Lukewarm people tend to choose was it popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them.
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, not average ones.
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
Lukewarm people gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere near as horrible as the guy down the street.
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and He is, indeed, part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, money and thoughts but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Lukewarm people loves others but do not see to love others as much as they love themselves.
Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give.
Lukewarm people think about live on earth much more often than eternity in Heaven.
Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty.
Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.
Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, come from a Christian family, vote Replubican or live in America.
Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structed so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexepcted happens - they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them - they have their retirement plan in place. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.
Lukewarm people swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from the typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.
Man!!! That stuff is really harsh! The fact is, however, God didn't ask us to follow Him in a lukewarm manner...He said "take up your cross and follow me." He asks for everything and we try to give Him less. Luke 14:34-35 says "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is neither fit for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out." Jesus wasn't making a cute little analogy. He was addressing those who aren't willing to give Him everything, who won't follow Him all the way. Our lukewarm, halfhearted attempts at following Him are useless. When salt is salty, it helps manure become a good fertilizer...encouraging growth all around. When salt isn't salty, its completely useless. Just like lukewarm, uncomitted faith - it can't even benefit manure.
We can't afford to be lukewarm. We really are nearing His return. Its too late to waste time playing games and sitting on a fence. We need to be so far from lukewarm that we are burning up with fire. I would hate for God to look at me on judgment day and say "You would ruin manure!" I would much rather hear "Well done..." Wouldn't you?
Amberly
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