Chapter 3:16 is quite a significant verse in the bible! (Wait… did you leave something out there?) I think in your mind you filled in a book from the bible automagically, didn’t you?
Maybe John 3:16 that we all know well: “For God so loved the World…” or the sister verse from 1 John?:
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
(1 John 3:16 NIV)
Beautiful hope, as opposed to the start of it all in Genesis 3:16 where God proclaims to the woman the punishment for eating the fruit… “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe…”
In the Book of Acts we see the effects of Faith:
“By Faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the Faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”
(Acts 3:16)
Actually, there is nothing special about the 16th verse of the third chapter of any book in the Bible, except that it’s a nice key for remembering stuff! But it does give you an idea why my ears clicked into “pay attention”-mode when it heard: Revelation 3:16
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
(Revelation 3:16 NIV)
This was the message to the Church of Laodicea, and if you have been a Christian for any time, you would have heard a sermon on this text. ”I know your deeds”, says the Lord; “that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”
Generally, the theme goes one of two ways:
1. You are either “on fire” for the Lord, or you are cold and possibly not even saved. Either way, you know what you are and can do something about it, but if you are lukewarm (just show up at church, but no real relationship with Christ) that’s when you are in trouble. You think you are saved, but quite possibly you are not…
2. The second one is very similar, a “Hot or Not” question: Are we useful to the kingdom?
Neither is specifically wrong, and I can see the biblical truth and lesson… But I think I tend to lean more toward a third interpretation of this same passage which looks a bit deeper into the situational context.
The Church (or body of believers) being referenced is in Laodicea. Laodicea doesn’t have a natural water supply, so water is piped in and channelled in and by the time it reaches the city, it is warm and tepid and just not really palatable.
This meant that citizens would travel to the neighbouring cities of Hierapolis, known for its medicinal hot springs, or Collosae with its mountain fountains of ice-cold and fresh water.
So the question is:
When someone interacts with me today, Child of the Living God… how was their experience?
What could I inject into their existence today? What are my deeds like today? What is going to be the effect of my mood and personality?
Was my effect on them Healing or Refreshing or…?
Did they leave better than when they showed up? Could I invest in their life today, (even if just with kindness?) Or was their experience of this follower of Christ just a lukewarm cup of water…?
As Saved and Redeemed children of the Most High, consider the lives we lead and the impact we should have every day on every person we greet.
Be absolutely blessed!
