Gotta Be Hot

Dear Friends,

This past week I was reminded that God is not a fan of “apathy”. The reminder came as I was dealing with a difficult situation at the church. It is a problem that has come up before, and I’m sure will come up again. So I was having a hard time finding the interest or energy to deal with it like I should. That’s when God reminded me that “apathy” is pretty much the opposite of how He calls His people to live.

We see this truth reflected throughout the New Testament. The apostle Paul was willing to be a fool for Christ; the disciples couldn’t help but boldly talk about the things they’d seen and heard; and Jesus blessed those who were hungry and thirsty for righteousness. What we see in all of those examples is that we’re called to be passionate about our walk with God. It can’t be something that we approach half-heartedly.

I know it’s easy to think “I’m good – I’m a Christian and try to be a nice person”. But the reality is that God wants more. Each and every day God presents us with opportunities to grow deeper in our walk with Him. Whether it’s through the challenges that come up, or the people we can serve, or the way we use our resources - God is constantly putting things in our lives that can cause us to grow closer to Him. And each and every day, we choose how to respond to those situations. The problem is, all-too-often we choose the comfortable, or easy path - which means that when God calls out to us, we’re basically giving Him an apathetic shrug of our shoulders. That’s not a good thing.

Listen to how Jesus talks about this very thing in Revelation 3:15-16, where He says, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” Those are strong words - and they make it very clear that God can handle a “hot” Christian, and God can handle a “cold” one - but what He won’t tolerate is an apathetic one.

So the question we each need to wrestle with today is, are we passionate about our relationship to God? Are we eager to know Him and serve Him each day, or are we content with where we are spiritually, and apathetic about the opportunities He gives us to spend time with Him and serve others? My encouragement to all of us is that we take God up on the daily opportunities He’s giving us to grow. Let’s not be apathetic about our relationship with Him. Instead, let’s ask God to help us have an open, receptive heart to everything He brings our way, so that we can truly be passionate about Him, and the work of His Kingdom.

Amen?

Daniel